Upcoming AWS Coverage on J. M. Smucker Post-Earnings Result

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / November 11, 2016 / Active Wall St. blog coverage looks at the headline from Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), formerly known as ConAgra Foods, Inc., as the company announced on November 10, 2016, that it had completed the process of separation from its Lamb Weston Business. Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. is now an independent company which has been listed with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is trading under the ticker "LW". Register with us now for your free membership and blog access at: http://www.activewallst.com/register/.

One of Conagra Brands' competitors within the Processed & Packaged Goods space, The J. M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM), will have its Q2 FY17 earnings conference call and webcast on Thursday, November 17, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Earnings results will be released the morning of the call. AWS will be initiating a research report on J. M. Smucker in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its blog coverage on CAG; touching on SJM. Get all of our free blog coverage and more by clicking on the link below:

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=CAG

http://www.activewallst.com/registration-3/?symbol=SJM

Conagra Brands

Commenting on the development, Sean Connolly, President and CEO of Conagra Brands said:

"This marks an exciting new chapter for Conagra. We are now a pure-play company with a renewed focus on capturing growth and driving shareholder value."

Conagra Brands Inc., headquartered in Chicago, manufactures iconic brands including Marie Callender's, Reddi-wip, Hunt's, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim, and Orville Redenbacher's. Conagra Brands has a history of over 100 years, can be traced its existence back as an agriculture commodities trading company. As the business of the company shifted from trading to production and marketing of food products it took on the name of ConAgra Foods. Now that it will focus more on its portfolio of branded food products the name Conagra Brands aptly represents its current business and future focus.

Lamb Weston was a part of Conagra Brands Commercial business vertical. The divestment of Conagra will give the company new direction and help it maintain its focus on the current business of branded foods. The new company will divide its business into four verticals - Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, Foodservice, and International. Out of the total annual sales of $ 8 billion, 91 % of the sale of Conagra Brands is through its branded products portfolio. The divestment was an excellent opportunity for the company's shareholders also as they ended up owning shares of both companies at the end of the deal. As per the terms of divestment, one share of Lamb Weston was issued against three shares of Conagra Brands.

Now that the divestment is complete, the company can focus on improving top-line trends while continuing to expand margins. Conagra Brands is aiming for a CAGR of 1%-2 % and an operating profit CAGR of 4%-5% through 2020. Conagra Brands also aims to buy back shares whenever possible. All this added together translates to earnings per share CAGR of approximately 10%. This is great news for investors who can look forward to better return on their investments.

Conagra Brands had in October 2016, added to its portfolio gourmet Mexican food and contemporary American cooking sauces with the acquisition of Frontera Foods, Inc. and Red Fork LLC, including the Frontera, Red Fork and Salpica brands.

Lamb Weston

On the other hand, Lamb Weston, which is into the supply of frozen potato sweet potato, appetizer, and vegetable products to retailers and restaurants across the world. It started its new journey as an independent company as on November 10, 2016. Before midnight of November 09, 2016, all outstanding shares of Lamb Weston were distributed to Conagra Brands' shareholders (as recorded on November 01, 2016). Eagle, Idaho-based Lamb Weston had started its business in 1950 and today supplies its products to over 100 countries across the globe. It started its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker "LW". Lamb Weston will replace Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA) in the S&P Midcap 400 after the close of trading November 10, 2016. The decisions regarding the management team, capital structure, and capital allocation policy are yet to be finalized and will be announced later.

For the Q1 2016 ending in September 22, 2016, Lamb Weston's revenues were $1.1 billion and operating profits was $139 million.

Tom Werner, Chief Executive Officer of Lamb Weston said:

"Lamb Weston is well positioned to continue to drive growth and capture share in the global frozen potato market."

Stock Performance

Conagra Brands' share price finished yesterday's trading session at $34.30, tumbling 28.30%. A total volume of 12.06 million shares exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3 months average volume of 2.86 million shares. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 30.27 and has a dividend yield of 2.92%.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street