Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Price Target Lowered to $15.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) had its price objective reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CAG. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.79.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CAG traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $15.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,914,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,273,063. The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of -70.75 and a beta of -0.02. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $15.03 and a fifty-two week high of $27.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.77.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 10.59%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -636.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. State Street Corp increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,202,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,363,000 after purchasing an additional 588,435 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,667,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,829,000 after buying an additional 2,079,903 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,622,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,044,000 after buying an additional 2,948,081 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,229,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,624,000 after buying an additional 2,376,823 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,130,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,113,000 after buying an additional 1,984,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Conagra Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue slightly beat consensus and sales showed resilience versus expectations — a sign demand held up even as margins tightened. Conagra posts better-than-expected sales
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a $0.35 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Apr 30), yielding roughly 8.9% — supportive for income investors but raises questions about sustainability given margin pressure. Conagra announces quarterly dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released Q3 results and accompanying slide deck / call materials — useful for detail on cost drivers, SKU performance and margin assumptions. Investors should review the slides/call for management’s plan to offset inflation. Conagra reports third quarter results (PR Newswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street forecasters have been revising models ahead of and after the print — expect more target/rating adjustments as brokers digest guidance. Analysts revamp expectations ahead of Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Management narrowed and trimmed full‑year profit guidance, blaming rising input and freight costs that will pressure margins — the primary driver of the stock decline. Conagra trims annual profit forecast (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS missed estimates by a hair while revenue was down ~1.9% vs. year‑ago — a combination that highlights margin stress and slower topline growth. Quarterly earnings summary and call materials
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank and other brokers have cut targets/expectations (Deutsche’s PT cited near‑term downside), increasing downside risk from multiple analyst downgrades. Deutsche Bank lowers expectations for Conagra
• Negative Sentiment: Prominent commentators have warned the current dividend level may be unsustainably high if margins don’t recover, which could pressure sentiment among income investors. Jim Cramer: high dividend may be unsustainable (Yahoo)

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra’s product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender’s and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt’s sauces, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.