Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.0667.

Several brokerages have commented on CAG. Zacks Research downgraded Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG stock opened at $14.53 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.63 and a beta of -0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.90. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $12.53 and a one year high of $20.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.84 and its 200 day moving average is $15.55.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 16.99% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Conagra Brands has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.400-1.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently -17.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 661,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,442,000 after acquiring an additional 131,287 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,125,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554,725 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,415,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 153.4% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 406,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,897,000 after purchasing an additional 246,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $1,367,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Conagra Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research projects FY2029 earnings of $1.61 per share, above the current-year consensus estimate of $1.45, suggesting potential longer-term earnings growth if Conagra’s performance stabilizes.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks maintained a “Strong Sell” rating, while its FY2027 and FY2028 EPS forecasts of $1.46 and $1.50, respectively, remain close to or above the current consensus estimate. Conagra Brands stock information
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut its FY2027 EPS forecast to $1.46 from $1.74 and its FY2028 forecast to $1.50 from $1.82. It also lowered estimates for multiple quarters, including FY2027 Q1 to $0.32 from $0.40, Q2 to $0.39 from $0.49, Q3 to $0.36 from $0.40, and Q4 to $0.39 from $0.45. Forecasts for FY2028 quarters were also reduced, including Q1 to $0.33 from $0.44, Q2 to $0.40 from $0.50, Q3 to $0.37 from $0.42, and Q4 to $0.40 from $0.46.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector commentary cited growing consumer resistance to price increases, following a disappointing Procter & Gamble result and cautious outlook. That raises concern that Conagra may have less ability to offset costs through pricing, potentially pressuring sales growth and margins. Consumer staples estimates and pricing pressure

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.