Stifel Nicolaus Increases Conagra Brands (CAG) Price Target to $42.00

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $38.00 to $42.00 in a report issued on Friday. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 10.96% from the stock’s previous close.

CAG has been the subject of a number of other reports. BidaskClub cut shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Conagra Brands from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 25th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.70.

Shares of Conagra Brands (CAG) opened at $37.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15,580.12, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.37. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $32.16 and a fifty-two week high of $41.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.83% and a return on equity of 18.35%. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, EVP Colleen Batcheler sold 120,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total value of $4,516,912.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,514 shares in the company, valued at $7,931,775. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,312,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,244 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 2,749.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 26,966,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,087,846,000 after purchasing an additional 26,020,645 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Conagra Brands by 3.2% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,191,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,189,000 after purchasing an additional 686,101 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 64.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,938,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 0.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. now owns 11,154,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,708,000 after purchasing an additional 38,863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.88% of the company’s stock.

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About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc, formerly ConAgra Foods, Inc, operates as a packaged food company. The Company operates through two segments: Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods. The Company sells branded and customized food products, as well as commercially branded foods. It also supplies vegetable, spice and grain products to a range of restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers.