South Dakota Investment Council Grows Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 483.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 111,993 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 92,793 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $3,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,449,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 102,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,675 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 13,654 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 113,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,691,000 after purchasing an additional 7,800 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 3.9 %

NYSE:CAG opened at $25.82 on Monday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.15 and a 200 day moving average of $28.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.28.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.42%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 137.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.78.

About Conagra Brands

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.