Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stock Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 785,989 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 157,423 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.16% of Conagra Brands worth $13,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth $145,656,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 239.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 8,347,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,837,000 after acquiring an additional 5,889,542 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Conagra Brands by 245.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 7,734,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,495,503 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Conagra Brands by 216.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,459,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,318,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 241.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 5,915,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,185,486 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In other news, Director John J. Mulligan purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.31 per share, with a total value of $250,425.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $296,617.68. This trade represents a 542.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Lenny purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 229,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. This trade represents a 12.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $13.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.08. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $12.53 and a 52-week high of $21.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of -137.89, a P/E/G ratio of -0.84 and a beta of -0.02.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $12.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $14.13.

Conagra Brands 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.