On May 18, 2023 at 12:47:57 ET an unusually large $119.94K block of Put contracts in Conagra Brands (CAG) was bought, with a strike price of $36.00 / share, expiring in 8 day(s) (on May 26, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 1.15 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 96.17th percentile of all recent large trades made in CAG options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Options Flow tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 1608 funds or institutions reporting positions in Conagra Brands. This is an increase of 29 owner(s) or 1.84% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to CAG is 0.24%, a decrease of 6.05%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 5.06% to 471,301K shares. The put/call ratio of CAG is 0.70, indicating a bullish outlook.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 17.54% Upside

As of May 11, 2023, the average one-year price target for Conagra Brands is 43.12. The forecasts range from a low of 37.37 to a high of $48.30. The average price target represents an increase of 17.54% from its latest reported closing price of 36.69.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Conagra Brands is 12,307MM, an increase of 0.76%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 2.48.

What are Other Shareholders Doing?

Ofi Invest Asset Management holds 33,213K shares representing 6.96% ownership of the company.

Price T Rowe Associates holds 24,992K shares representing 5.24% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 27,153K shares, representing a decrease of 8.65%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in CAG by 16.87% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 14,552K shares representing 3.05% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 14,300K shares, representing an increase of 1.73%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in CAG by 11.46% over the last quarter.

Macquarie Group holds 14,025K shares representing 2.94% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 13,813K shares, representing an increase of 1.51%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in CAG by 23.42% over the last quarter.

VIMSX – Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund Investor Shares holds 11,164K shares representing 2.34% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 11,069K shares, representing an increase of 0.85%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in CAG by 9.87% over the last quarter.

Conagra Brands Declares $0.33 Dividend

On April 12, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share ($1.32 annualized). Shareholders of record as of April 28, 2023 will receive the payment on June 1, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.33 per share.

At the current share price of $36.69 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 3.60%.

Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 3.13%, the lowest has been 2.18%, and the highest has been 4.08%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.53 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 0.89 standard deviations above the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.78. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.55%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Conagra Brands Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Conagra Brands, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, is one of North America’sleading branded food companies. Guided by an entrepreneurial spirit, Conagra Brands combines a rich heritage of making great food with a sharpened focus on innovation. The company’s portfolio is evolving to satisfy people’s changing food preferences. Conagra’s iconic brands, such as Birds Eye®, Marie Callender’s®, Banquet®, Healthy Choice®, Slim Jim®, Reddi-wip®, and Vlasic®, as well as emerging brands, including Angie’s® BOOMCHICKAPOP®, Duke’s®, Earth Balance®, Gardein®, and Frontera®, offer choices for every occasion.

Key filings for this company:

• UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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