Top Consumer Stocks
WMT +1.48%
MCD +0.99%
DIS +1.61%
CVS +1.32%
KO +1.24%
Consumer stocks were finishing near their session highs today, with shares of consumer staples companies in the S&P 500 rising almost 1.1% while shares of consumer discretionary firms in the S&P 500 also were ahead about 1.4%.
In company news, shares of food processor ConAgra Foods ( CAG ) rose as much as 5% on Wednesday after it announced plans to spin off its Lamb Wesson frozen potato unit into an independent publicly traded company.
Following the split, expected by next fall, leading brands such as Chef Boyardee and Healthy Choice would be part of ConAgra Brands Inc. The move will follow the company this year selling off its private-label operations to Treehouse Foods for about $2.7 billion. It also plans to cut 1,500 jobs, or nearly one-third of its current workforce, as the company shifts its headquarters to Chicago from Omaha, Neb.
CAG shares recently were up more than 4% at $41.03 each, retracing a portion of an earlier rise to $41.46 a share.
In other sector news,
(+) TASR, Raised to Buy from Neutral at Ladenburg Thalmann, which also set a $24 price target for the stock.
(-) GPRO, Piper Jaffray trims price target by $5 to $20 a share. Company also said its GoPro Channel will be included on SkyQ, a new entertainment system expected to launch early next year in the UK and Ireland.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2016 MTNewswires.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
