Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $26.38, but opened at $27.00. Conagra Brands shares last traded at $26.51, with a volume of 1,307,508 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CAG shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.90.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $25.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. Conagra Brands's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company's stock worth $11,085,000 after acquiring an additional 62,187 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Conagra Brands by 110.8% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,768 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 19,329 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company's stock worth $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company's stock worth $341,048,000 after purchasing an additional 618,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 135,352 shares of the company's stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.