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

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

PPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $46.16 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride has a one year low of $26.37 and a one year high of $55.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.26.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,289.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,225,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,621,000 after purchasing an additional 4,849,147 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 903.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,455,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 881,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,620,000 after buying an additional 11,128 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 145,879.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,116,000 after buying an additional 827,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% during the second 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.