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

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,950,000 shares, a growth of 9.9% from the December 15th total of 14,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Seven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.56.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAG traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.83. 9,680,558 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,525,496. The company has a market cap 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 fifty day simple moving average of $27.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its earnings results 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 business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued 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 5.42%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 137.26%.

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.