UBS Group Upgrades Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) to “Hold”

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) was upgraded by stock analysts at UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PPC. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Stephens set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.20.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $28.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.33. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1 year low of $27.13 and a 1 year high of $51.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 28.57%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.