VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Has $11.44 Million Stock Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 661,029 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 131,287 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $11,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sutton Place Investors LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 31,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 136,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Probity Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 29,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $14.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.97. Conagra Brands has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $23.37. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion and a P/E ratio of -140.95.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a positive return on equity of 10.15% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,400.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John J. Mulligan acquired 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $296,617.68. The trade was a 542.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Lenny acquired 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,288,735.60. This trade represents a 12.23% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CAG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $15.80.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

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.