Conagra enjoys activist support

Article Excerpt

CONAGRA BRANDS INC. $29 (New York symbol CAG; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 485.9 million; Market cap: $14.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.9%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.conagra.com) makes packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream. Activist investor Jana Partners continues to hold roughly 3% of Conagra’s shares. Billionaire investor George Soros also owns just under 1%. So far, they have not pressured the company to sell assets or make other moves. Instead, their involvement is likely due Conagra’s improving prospects following last year’s acquisition of Pinnacle Foods for $8.03 billion (64% cash, 36% stock). Pinnacle’s brands include Duncan Hines (cake mixes), Vlasic (pickles), and Aunt Jemima (table syrups). Conagra expects the elimination of overlapping operations to cut $285 million from its annual costs, up from its initial target of $215 million. Conagra is a buy. buy…