Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Santander raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $39.70 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a twelve month low of $35.73 and a twelve month high of $57.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.54 and its 200 day moving average is $42.02.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.11. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 6.70%.The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,248.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,522.6% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter valued at $41,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.