Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,970,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the May 31st total of 13,960,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

CAG stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.33. The company had a trading volume of 3,658,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,703,361. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.24. The stock has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.32. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $25.16 and a 12 month high of $34.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.25% and a net margin of 7.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Conagra Brands news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $469,034.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,523.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $706,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 61,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 8,941 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $4,304,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 113.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 889,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,323,000 after acquiring an additional 472,647 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.