Westchester Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,400 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Conagra Brands accounts for 0.4% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on CAG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.33.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG stock opened at $26.71 on Wednesday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.06 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.15.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Conagra Brands’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 137.25%.

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.