Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.20.

PPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens set a $40.00 price target on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $29.18 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.87 and a 200 day moving average of $37.14. The company has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $27.13 and a 12-month high of $50.56.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.18). Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 4.78%.The business had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,776,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405,251 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,196.4% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 813,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,731,000 after acquiring an additional 751,042 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,418,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,296,000 after acquiring an additional 742,204 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,501,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 138.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 958,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,022,000 after acquiring an additional 556,766 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.