Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 30.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 93,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,918 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $4,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 325.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 42,136 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter worth about $808,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 881,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,620,000 after acquiring an additional 11,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 345.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,516,000 after acquiring an additional 59,228 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $47.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1-year low of $26.52 and a 1-year high of $55.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.90.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly 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. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PPC. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

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.