Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,198,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,125 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $46,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.40.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,105,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.85. The stock has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.78. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1-year low of $22.33 and a 1-year high of $47.44.

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

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,440,642.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 82.63% 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.