Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.3333.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Santander upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,248.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $43.16 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.44 and a 200-day moving average of $40.79. The firm has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Pilgrim’s Pride has a twelve month low of $35.73 and a twelve month high of $56.88.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 35.15% and a net margin of 5.85%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.