Conagra Shares Tumble 6 Percent on Earnings Miss

The Chicago packaged food maker reported a nearly 17 percent increase in sales and earnings of 45 cents per share, better than the same period last year, but short of Wall Street's target of 49 cents per share.

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares in Conagra Brands are down 6 percent in early trading after reporting first-quarter earnings that fell short of expectations.

The Chicago packaged food maker reported a nearly 17 percent increase in sales and earnings of 45 cents per share, better than the same period last year, but short of Wall Street's target of 49 cents per share. The company had earnings per share of 37 cents per share in last year's first quarter.

Conagra, which announced in June that it was buying Pinnacle Foods for about $10.9 billion, had earnings of $178.2 million for the first fiscal quarter of 2019, better than $152.5 million in last year's fiscal first quarter.

Shares in Conagra slumped nearly 6 percent to $33.99 Thursday.

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