New York State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,055 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,461 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Conagra Brands worth $10,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Conagra Brands by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,484,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,229,000 after buying an additional 1,691,945 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 618,096 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,514,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,180,000 after acquiring an additional 196,100 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $346,495,000 after acquiring an additional 10,604,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.0% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,290,625 shares of the company's stock worth $204,571,000 after acquiring an additional 122,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.78.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.82. 7,589,209 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,840,252. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $26.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.28. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.06 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

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

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.