KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $440,000 Investment in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $8,381,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $8,601,000. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,989,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,317,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,259.1% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 72,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after purchasing an additional 67,411 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PPC. StockNews.com downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander initiated coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $49.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $33.67 and a twelve month high of $57.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.94. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.63.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is an increase from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.