Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 2,552.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,289,751 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,241,121 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.27% of Conagra Brands worth $41,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Courier Capital LLC lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 1.3% in the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 27,062 shares of the company's stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 87,222 shares of the company's stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,220 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 1.1% in the first quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,184,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAG. Citigroup decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Six investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,473,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,744,295. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.26. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.62 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24. The firm has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.07). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 4.14%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Conagra Brands news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,890,108.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.