Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 25.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,181 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 7,990 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,875,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,433,000 after acquiring an additional 173,952 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 54,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 173,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,765,000 after acquiring an additional 10,835 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.04. 697,942 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,651,874. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.23. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.16 and a 12-month high of $33.71. The firm has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.25% and a net margin of 7.86%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays raised their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In related news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.