Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Hits New 52-Week High at $34.70

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.70 and last traded at $34.64, with a volume of 13259 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PPC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.16. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.49) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $1,332,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,565,405.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 82.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 107.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.