Hardy Reed LLC Invests $328,000 in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Hardy Reed LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company's stock worth $346,495,000 after acquiring an additional 10,604,367 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 106.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,077,000 shares of the company's stock worth $197,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,200 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth approximately $65,932,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,484,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,990,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of CAG stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.82. 7,589,209 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,840,252. 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 $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.28. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $33.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.54.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 137.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CAG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.78.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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.