Morgan Stanley Cuts Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Price Target to $17.00

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CAG. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $16.27.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.1%

Conagra Brands stock opened at $15.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -157.03 and a beta of 0.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.71. Conagra Brands has a 1-year low of $15.03 and a 1-year high of $27.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently -1,400.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Conagra Brands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,202,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,363,000 after purchasing an additional 588,435 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Conagra Brands by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,667,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,829,000 after buying an additional 2,079,903 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Conagra Brands by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,622,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,044,000 after buying an additional 2,948,081 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,229,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,624,000 after buying an additional 2,376,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Conagra Brands by 19.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,130,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984,873 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Conagra Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Conagra Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management said organic sales growth and volume trends are improving, suggesting demand recovery that could support revenue stabilization going forward. Conagra Returns to Organic Sales Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts continue constructive views (overweight/outperform ratings remain at a few firms), providing a floor for sentiment if execution improves. Analysts Slash Forecasts After Q3 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Full prepared remarks and call transcript are available — useful for gauging management’s guidance, cost outlook and planned margin actions but contain mixed signals rather than new catalysts. Earnings Call Prepared Remarks Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 EPS missed estimates ($0.39 vs. $0.40) and management issued a cautious near-term outlook, raising concerns about margin pressure from inflation and costs. That miss is the primary immediate driver of the share decline. Q3 Earnings Call Transcript (EPS Miss)
• Negative Sentiment: Major brokerages slashed price targets and some downgraded ratings (Goldman, Wells Fargo and multiple peers cut PTs), amplifying selling pressure and lowering the analyst-driven support level for the stock. These Analysts Slash Their Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Investor governance/ transparency flag: commentary that no insiders set trading plans has raised questions about management confidence and disclosure practices, a potential sentiment headwind for some holders. Insider Trading Plans and Transparency Concerns

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.