Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Acquired by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,259 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 102.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $41.05 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.59 and its 200-day moving average is $38.05. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $22.33 and a twelve month high of $47.44.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.35. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 25.06% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,892,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.80.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.