Short Interest in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Increases By 5.5%

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,230,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the August 15th total of 14,430,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CAG shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 144.4% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Security National Bank bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of CAG traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $32.41. 680,872 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,629,385. The stock has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.63 and a 200-day moving average of $29.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.97. Conagra Brands has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 191.78%.

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.