First Bank & Trust Buys 27,643 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

First Bank & Trust grew its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 101.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 54,863 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,643 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,493,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.42. The company had a trading volume of 7,264,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,120,062. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $34.38.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 14.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 70.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total transaction of $469,034.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,523.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Conagra Brands 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.