Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 19,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 13,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $44.52 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1 year low of $26.52 and a 1 year high of $55.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.84.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.