Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $26.38, but opened at $27.00. Conagra Brands shares last traded at $26.51, with a volume of 1,307,508 shares traded.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 137.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.20.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.74 and a 200-day moving average of $27.47. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,085,000 after acquiring an additional 62,187 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 110.8% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 19,329 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,048,000 after purchasing an additional 618,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 135,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.