Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Buys 4,888 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 759,142 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,888 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $24,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CAG. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $307,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Conagra Brands by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 119,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,550,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 47,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 5,115 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 144.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,037,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.63.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,890,108.47. This 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. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Conagra Brands stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.72. The company had a trading volume of 465,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,680,219. The company has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.20.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.07). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 135.92%.

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.