Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 555,850 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,939 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Conagra Brands worth $15,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 112.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 319,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,865,000 after purchasing an additional 82,732 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 388,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,769,000 after purchasing an additional 20,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.1 %

CAG stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.54. The stock had a trading volume of 5,846,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,772,075. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $33.24. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $25.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.39. The company has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is 137.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.67.

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.