5 Ex-Dividend Stocks With Buy Ratings

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The following stocks go ex-dividend Thursday, meaning an investor must purchase the shares Wednesday to qualify for the next dividend payment: ConAgra (CAG), Eaton Vance (EV), Scholastic (SCHL), Tanger Factory Outlet (SKT) and Unum (UNM).

Each of the stocks received a buy rating from TheStreet Ratings.

ConAgra

ConAgra announced on April 17 that it agreed to acquire Odom's Tennessee Pride, a maker of breakfast sandwiches.

"ConAgra reported F3Q12 EPS of $0.51 vs. our and consensus $0.48 estimate, with upside driven by lower than expected corporate expense," Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts wrote in a March 22 report. "Key takeaways from conference call: 1) F12 EPS is expected to be at the low end of managements guidance for LSD-MSD growth, due to the challenging consumer environment, with modest growth in F4Q12. 2) Consumer Foods profits are expected to grow modestly in F4Q12, benefitting from moderating commodity cost inflation which peaked at 11% in F3Q12, as a majority of pricing is already in place. However, Consumer volumes are expected to remain weak. 3) Commercial Foods profits are expected to grow strongly due to continued solid results from Lamb Weston and improved results from ConAgra Mills. 4) A&P spending is now expected to decline modestly for F12 versus previous expectations of a slight increase."

Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 3.7%

Rated "A (Buy)" by TheStreet Ratings: The company's third-quarter gross profit margin decreased from the previous year.

ConAgra has weak liquidity. Its Quick Ratio is 0.71, which demonstrates a lack of ability to meet its short-term cash needs.

In the third quarter, stockholders' net worth increased 8.77% from the prior year.

TheStreet Ratings' price target is $32.15.

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