Shares of processed and packaged foods company Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) gained in today’s trading as investors await its Q4 earnings results on July 11 before the market opens. Analysts are expecting earnings per share to come in at $0.57 on revenue of $2.932 billion. This represents a decline from the $0.62 per share seen in the year-ago period, according to TipRanks’ data.
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However, CAG has beaten earnings estimates in each of its last eight quarters, and it’s still possible for earnings to grow in comparison to last year’s results.
Options Traders Anticipate a Minor Move
Using TipRanks’ Options tool, we can see what options traders are expecting from the stock immediately after its earnings report. The expected earnings move is determined by calculating the at-the-money straddle of the options closest to expiration after the earnings announcement. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry, the Options tool does this for you. Indeed, it currently says that options traders are expecting a 3.99% move in either direction.
Is CAG a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on CAG stock based on seven Holds assigned in the past three months. After an 8% decline in its share price over the past year, the average CAG price target of $31 per share implies 7.81% upside potential.
Interestingly, though, when it comes to “smart money,” money managers seem to be more confident in CAG stock. Indeed, hedge funds increased their holdings in the stock by 4.8 million shares in the past quarter. As a result, they have a very positive confidence signal, as indicated by the graphic below.
