Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

PPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Argus raised their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America cut 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 report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

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

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. This trade represents 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 available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 145,879.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,116,000 after acquiring an additional 827,134 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the third quarter worth approximately $298,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 28.9% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 87,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,010,000 after buying an additional 19,518 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 61.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 11,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.