Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock Price Down 7.9% – Should You Sell?

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)’s stock price dropped 7.9% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $26.25 and last traded at $25.97. 169,537 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,288,220 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PPC shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.67.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.60 and a 200 day moving average of $32.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $4.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.63 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth approximately $138,936,000. Carrhae Capital LLP bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,185,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 724.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,365,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,625 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,830,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,617,000 after purchasing an additional 411,656 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 262.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 547,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,380,000 after buying an additional 396,181 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a poultry producer that raises and processes chickens and sells fresh, frozen and prepared chicken products. Its offerings include whole birds, breast and other cuts, as well as value-added and ready-to-eat foods for retail, foodservice and institutional customers. The company serves customers in the United States, Mexico and Europe. Its European operations include Moy Park, a poultry and prepared-foods business based in Northern Ireland. Pilgrim’s Pride traces its origins to a poultry business founded by Aubrey Pilgrim in Pittsburg, Texas, in 1946.