Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $25.90 and last traded at $26.4680, with a volume of 54749 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PPC shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Stephens set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.35 and its 200-day moving average is $33.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 21.70% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.