Paralel Advisors LLC Has $2.35 Million Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Paralel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,708 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,696 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $2,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $168,877,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,704,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,319 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,798,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,631,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 114.5% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,927,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

CAG stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $25.98. 146,140 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,093,219. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.06 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The stock has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.47, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.69 and its 200 day moving average is $27.23.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 205.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.90.

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.