Analysts Set Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target at $38.00

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus assumed coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $41.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $38.67 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.78. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $21.41 and a 12-month high of $39.00.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 2.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 300,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 593,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,548,000 after purchasing an additional 3,281 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 206,866.7% during the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 24,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 24,824 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 142.2% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 108,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 63,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 92.6% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 15,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 7,411 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.