Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.8333.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens set a $40.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,522.6% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $28.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.79. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $50.56.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 4.78%.The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.