Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $32.61 and last traded at $32.8960, with a volume of 32381 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stephens set a $40.00 price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 0.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.91. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.14). Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 35.15% and a net margin of 5.85%.The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 82.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 30,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 13,980 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter worth about $468,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 147,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,777,000 after acquiring an additional 36,099 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 11,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 755,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,442,000 after acquiring an additional 104,308 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.