Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $24.35 and last traded at $24.53, with a volume of 271942 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CAG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their price target 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, Barclays reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.82.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.62%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 137.26%.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 21,015.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,654,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,495,000 after buying an additional 10,604,367 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 106.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,077,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,200 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the third quarter worth about $65,932,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 7.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,484,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,229,000 after buying an additional 1,691,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the third quarter worth $46,990,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

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.