Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

A number of analysts have recently commented on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target 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, November 1st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPC. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock opened at $50.48 on Thursday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52-week low of $25.23 and a 52-week high of $55.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.64.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 29.92%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.91 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.