Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its target price raised by research analysts at Barclays from $45.00 to $49.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 2.33% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PPC. Stephens began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Argus lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $50.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $25.23 and a 12-month high of $51.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.66.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 31.38%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,440,642.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Pilgrim’s Pride 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 value of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,892,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.