Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,918 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $4,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock opened at $52.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.81. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $25.23 and a 1 year high of $55.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 29.92%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPC. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

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.