Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.33.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PPC. Stephens started coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $281,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,292.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,320,000 after buying an additional 501,776 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 763.1% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 215,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,968,000 after purchasing an additional 190,770 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,515,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,024,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,233,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,310,000 after purchasing an additional 136,970 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 1.3 %

Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $46.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.30. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52 week low of $23.15 and a 52 week high of $49.07.

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

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.