Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Update

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,950,000 shares, a growth of 9.9% from the December 15th total of 14,510,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.83. 9,680,558 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,525,496. The firm has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.25. Conagra Brands has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.42%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.26%.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAG. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,085,000 after purchasing an additional 62,187 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Conagra Brands by 110.8% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after buying an additional 19,329 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,048,000 after acquiring an additional 618,096 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at $1,020,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,495,000 after acquiring an additional 10,604,367 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAG shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.56.

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.