Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Now Covered by Stephens

Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on PPC. Argus upped 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. Bank of America downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $45.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

PPC opened at $44.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $22.92 and a 12-month high of $49.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.35. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 25.06%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $281,515.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,292.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,320,000 after buying an additional 501,776 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,856,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 763.1% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 215,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,968,000 after purchasing an additional 190,770 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,515,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,024,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.