Short Interest in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Grows By 9.9%

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,950,000 shares, an increase 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 short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Conagra Brands during the third quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.56.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.83. 9,680,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,525,496. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.25. 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. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $33.24. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

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

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.