Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 1,330,249 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,426,955 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,330,249 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $241,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,738,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,837,578,000 after purchasing an additional 786,816 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Conagra Brands by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,556,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,801,000 after buying an additional 2,671,720 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,171,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,380 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,849,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,112,000 after acquiring an additional 167,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,675,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,619,372 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE CAG traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $29.99. 815,929 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,074,766. The company has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.16 and a fifty-two week high of $38.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.47.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 7.86% and a return on equity of 14.25%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 70.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.14.

Conagra Brands Profile

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.