Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $55.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Pilgrim’s Pride traded as high as $46.30 and last traded at $45.60, with a volume of 68187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.69.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on PPC. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,320,000 after buying an additional 501,776 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,856,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 763.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 215,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,968,000 after purchasing an additional 190,770 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter worth approximately $6,515,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,024,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.72.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 25.06% and a net margin of 4.25%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

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.