Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 4,900 Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,583,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter worth about $904,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 173.9% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 45,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 28,749 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter valued at about $787,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 221,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,593,000 after buying an additional 35,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, August 12th. Argus lifted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

PPC opened at $45.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.60. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $23.15 and a twelve month high of $49.07. 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 capitalization of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.82.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 25.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $281,515.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.