Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PPC shares. Zacks Research lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens set a $40.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 note on Thursday, April 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 82.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,306,000 after purchasing an additional 131,482 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,482,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,512,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,830,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,617,000 after buying an additional 411,656 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,171,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,689,000 after acquiring an additional 404,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,661,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,774,000 after acquiring an additional 108,949 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC opened at $27.85 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a one year low of $27.32 and a one year high of $51.45. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.85 and a 200-day moving average of $38.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

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

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.