Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Acquires 2,669,959 Shares of Conagra Brands $CAG

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 34.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,404,020 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,669,959 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $180,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAG. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 10,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC now owns 176,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,063,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.1%

Conagra Brands stock opened at $13.73 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.34. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $12.53 and a twelve month high of $22.49. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.31 and a beta of -0.02.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 10.15% and a negative net margin of 0.39%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,400.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CAG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research lowered Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research started coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.33.

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.