Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Short Interest Up 7.2% in June

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,970,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the May 31st total of 13,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.7 %

CAG stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.13. 2,236,530 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,683,938. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.87 and its 200-day moving average is $29.24. Conagra Brands has a 12 month low of $25.16 and a 12 month high of $33.76. The company has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.25% and a net margin of 7.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is presently 70.35%.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In other Conagra Brands news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $469,034.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,439,523.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 188.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 153,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,395,000 after buying an additional 100,141 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 316.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 154,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,414,000 after purchasing an additional 117,042 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 120.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 859,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,572,000 after purchasing an additional 469,421 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 517,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,840,000 after purchasing an additional 37,149 shares during the period. Finally, Adams Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,690,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.