Brokerages Set Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Target Price at $45.50

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens initiated coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 295.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 3.6 %

PPC stock opened at $46.69 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a twelve month low of $26.52 and a twelve month high of $55.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.77.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 29.92%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.