Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,035 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,994 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 19,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 13,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 6.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $44.52 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.77. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52 week low of $26.52 and a 52 week high of $55.50. The stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens started coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.