Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Barclays from $45.00 to $49.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.33% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PPC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America downgraded 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 report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus increased their target price 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. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 4.6 %

NASDAQ PPC traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 659,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,408. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.50. Pilgrim’s Pride has a twelve month low of $25.23 and a twelve month high of $51.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.82.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,462,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,811 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 14,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,329 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 35,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter valued at $303,000. 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.