Islay Capital Management LLC Sells 6,880 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Islay Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,880 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,233,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,310,000 after buying an additional 136,970 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 145,879.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,116,000 after acquiring an additional 827,134 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 501,776 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 635,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,450,000 after buying an additional 91,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 88.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 433,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,981,000 after purchasing an additional 203,408 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock opened at $51.34 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $25.23 and a 12 month high of $55.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.90.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered 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. Stephens assumed 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. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride 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.