State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 18,299 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,797 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,299 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $5,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at $47,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on CAG shares. BNP Paribas upgraded Conagra Brands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $27.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,676,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,691,030. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.34. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.62 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24.

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

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 135.92%.

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.