Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 5,169,702 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 4,998,225 shares.The stock last traded at $25.88 and had previously closed at $25.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CAG shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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 note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.56.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.25 and a 200-day moving average of $29.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 137.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,313,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,602,000 after acquiring an additional 633,794 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands in the second quarter worth $6,831,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 16,700 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the second quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 132,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after buying an additional 32,708 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.