Latest news with #HealthyChoice
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Do Wall Street Analysts Like Conagra Brands Stock?
Valued at a market cap of $9 billion, Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) is a leading packaged foods company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Healthy Choice, Hunt's, Birds Eye, Slim Jim, Orville Redenbacher's, and Marie Callender's, spanning categories like frozen meals, snacks, condiments, and shelf-stable goods. This packaged foods company has significantly lagged behind the broader market over the past 52 weeks. Shares of CAG have declined 36.8% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has soared 21.1%. Moreover, on a YTD basis, the stock is down 31.8%, compared to SPX's 7.9% uptick. More News from Barchart Supermicro's Earnings Selloff Explained: Should You Buy SMCI Stock Now? Amazon's $36M Bet on Quantum Computing: What Investors Need to Know AMD Stock Slips After Q2 Earnings, But Here's Why It's a Buying Opportunity Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. Narrowing the focus, CAG has also considerably underperformed the First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF's (FTXG) 8.9% loss over the past 52 weeks and 3.2% drop on a YTD basis. On Jul. 10, shares of CAG plunged 4.4% after its weaker-than-expected Q4 earnings release. Both its quarterly revenue of $2.8 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.56 fell short of the consensus estimates and experienced year-over-year declines. Due to a decline in organic sales, driven by softer consumption trends, currency headwinds, and the unfavorable impact of M&A, the company's top line decreased 4.3% from the year-ago quarter. Moreover, on the earnings front, its adjusted EPS dropped 8.2% from the year-ago quarter, missing analyst estimates by 5.1%. For fiscal 2026, ending in May, analysts expect CAG's EPS to decline 24.4% year over year to $1.74. The company's earnings surprise history is disappointing. It missed the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters, while exceeding on another occasion. Among the 17 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a "Hold" which is based on two 'Strong Buy,' 13 'Hold,' one "Moderate Sell,' and one 'Strong Sell' rating. The configuration is more bearish than two months ago, with none of the analysts suggesting a 'Sell' rating. On Jul. 11, Robert Dickerson from Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) maintained a "Hold" rating on CAG, with a price target of $19, indicating a marginal potential upside from the current levels. The mean price target of $21.19 represents an 11.9% premium from CAG's current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $27 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 42.6%. On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Conagra Brands creates jobs in Missouri with plant investment project
Conagra Brands is investing almost $30m to upgrade equipment at a plant in Missouri producing the company's Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's meals. The project at the publicly listed US food business' facility in the city of Macon will create 26 jobs, adding to the 340 existing positions, according to a joint statement from Conagra and the local development authority. Conagra said the $29.1m investment includes the replacement of 'outdated equipment' and to increase the site's food cooling capabilities. Baking ovens and freezers will be replaced, while new equipment for 'dewatering' processes and raw meat inspection and processing will be brought in to expand the products manufactured at the premises. 'This expansion represents a meaningful investment in both our business and the local community and we're proud to continue building our presence here,' John Phipps, the manager of Conagra's Macon facility, said. 'We value our strong partnership with the city of Macon and look forward to expanding our operations.' Missouri's Department of Economic Development will provide undisclosed tax credits and access to capital for the Macon project, according to the statement. The expansion at Macon follows the Birds Eye and Duncan Hines brand maker's decision earlier this year to close its pie filling plant in Fennville, Michigan, by the end of June, putting 85 worker's jobs on the line. Last year, Conagra also permanently closed its Birds Eye frozen vegetables plant in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, with the loss of 252 jobs. Around another 500 employees will also be trimmed from the group workforce after Conagra said earlier this month it was selling its Chef Boyardee shelf-stable pasta business to Hometown Food Company for $600m in cash. The deal includes a 820,000 square-foot production facility in Milton, Pennsylvania, and all the staff employed at the plant. Chef Boyardee's shelf-stable products generated approximately $450m in net sales for Conagra in 2024. Before the disposal was announced, Conagra issued its third-quarter results in April, when it kept its guidance unchanged for a range of metrics in 2025. The maker of the snack brand Angie's Boomchickapop forecasts group-wide organic net sales will decline by around 2% following a year-to-date decline of 2.8% to $8.83bn over the nine months of the current fiscal year. Conagra foresees an adjusted operating margin of 14.4% and adjusted EPS of $2.35. The margin fell to 14.2% over the nine months from 16.3% in the same period of 2024, while adjusted EPS dropped to $1.73 from $2.06. Elsewhere in the year-to-date results, adjusted operating profit decreased 26% to $1.04bn. Net income fell 2% to $896.5m. "Conagra Brands creates jobs in Missouri with plant investment project" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Conagra to sell Chef Boyardee to private equity firm for $600M
This story was originally published on Food Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Food Dive newsletter. Conagra Brands is selling the Chef Boyardee brand to Hometown Food company, part of private equity firm Brynwood Partners, for $600 million. Hometown will acquire a Pennsylvania plant and Chef Boyardee's shelf-stable products with the exception of its frozen skillet meals, which will be licensed to Conagra. The Chef Boyardee products that are part of the transaction contributed approximately $450 million in net sales during Conagra's fiscal year 2024. The sale is expected to close before its first quarter ends, which historically has been late August. Conagra has prioritized two major food categories: snacks, such as Slim Jim meat sticks and Angie's Boomchickapop popcorn; and frozen meals, like Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's. In recent years, it has sold peanut butter brand Peter Pan and Wesson cooking oil, and acquired premium meat stick brand Fatty. "The Chef Boyardee divestiture marks another milestone in reshaping the Conagra Brands portfolio for better long-term growth, while also paying down debt,' Sean Connolly, Conagra's CEO, said in a statement. 'By deepening our focus on our leading, growth-oriented frozen and healthy-snacking businesses, we continue to build a more focused company with modern consumer brands." Conagra has avoided large acquisitions following its $10.9 billion purchase in 2018 of Pinnacle Foods, which added well-known brands such as Birds Eye, Duncan Hines and Vlasic to the fold. Since then, the company has worked to invest in its portfolio and pay down debt. The sale of Chef Boyardee should go a long way toward helping Conagra lower its debt level and place it in a stronger financial position should it find a larger M&A deal to its liking. In a statement, Henk Hartong, the CEO of Brynwood Partners, said the Chef Boyardee acquisition is the largest acquisition in its 40-year history. The firm plans to 'reinvigorate the Chef Boyardee brand and extend into new formats quickly,' he said. Conagra has owned Chef Boyardee, which makes predominantly canned pasta with Italian-inspired offerings like Beef Ravioli and Spaghetti & Meatballs, for more than two decades. It acquired the brand in 2000 following its $2.9 billion purchase of International Home Foods, which also included Pam cooking spray. Chef Boyardee was created by Hector Boiardi, an Italian immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1914, the brand said on its website. He later opened a popular Italian restaurant in Cleveland where guests would ask for his pasta and sauce recipes, leading to the idea of selling his food for home consumption. Recommended Reading Conagra Brands adds 'GLP-1 friendly' label to some Healthy Choice meals Sign in to access your portfolio
Wall Street Journal
03-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Conagra Brands Profit Sinks as Volumes Slip
Conagra Brands CAG -0.83%decrease; red down pointing triangle recorded lower earnings and sales in its fiscal third quarter as volumes fell across each of its segments. The maker of Slim Jims and Healthy Choice frozen meals posted a profit of $145.1 million, or 30 cents a share, for the quarter ended Feb. 23. That's down from $308.6 million, or 64 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings were 51 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting 52 cents a share. Sales fell 6.3% to $2.84 billion, below analyst projections for $2.9 billion, according to FactSet. The top line was 5.2% lower on an organic basis, driven by lower volumes, prices and an unfavorable change in the mix of products sold. Revenue was also hurt by foreign exchange headwinds and impacts from the company's recent divestitures. It sold a majority stake in India's Agro Tech Foods 500215 4.13%increase; green up pointing triangle in August and said that same month that it would acquire FATTY Smoked Meat Sticks. Chief Executive Sean Connolly said shipments lagged consumption during the quarter. Conagra faced manufacturing challenges at its primary facility that prepares chicken for frozen meals. It was also hit with a surge of consumption in its frozen vegetable business that depleted its inventory and led to out-of-stocks. 'We are making solid progress in restoring inventory and improving customer service levels,' Connolly said. Write to Dean Seal at
