ConAgra Foods Inc (CAG) Meets Earnings Expectations, Time To Buy In?

What have hedge funds been doing with ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 23 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long in this stock, a drop of 15% from the end of the fourth quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.

When looking at the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management had the number one position in ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG), worth close to $141 million, with 3.86 million shares accounting for 0.3% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $128 million position and 3.50 million shares; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions encompass Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management, Joe Huber’s Huber Capital Management, and Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group.

Due to the fact that ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has witnessed a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of funds that elected to cut their entire stakes heading into the second quarter. Interestingly, Jacob Doft’s Highline Capital Management said goodbye to the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds watched by Insider Monkey, worth close to $73.4 million in stock, and Benjamin A. Smith of Laurion Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $46.4 million worth of shares. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by four funds heading into the second quarter.

Despite slightly bearish hedge fund sentiment and an uninspiring earnings report, the involvement of an activist investor could propel the share prices of ConAgra in the upcoming months. The stock is likely to attract more investors in the next few weeks. Hence, we recommend a buy for the shares of ConAgra.

Disclosure: None