Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,371 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,831,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 27.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 76,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.7% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 29,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 4,697 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 28.1% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 10,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 634,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,027,000 after purchasing an additional 55,790 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $25.70 on Wednesday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.22. The company has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be given 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 dividend yield of 5.45%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 137.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.