Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (PPC) – What Are Brokerages Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.67.

Several research firms have weighed in on PPC. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 36,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $28.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $25.00 and a 12-month high of $44.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.55.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $4.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.63 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a food company that produces, processes and distributes poultry and prepared foods. Its product portfolio includes fresh, frozen and ready-to-eat chicken products, as well as foodservice, retail and convenience offerings sold under brands such as Pilgrim’s, Just Bare, Gold’n Plump and Del Dia.

Founded in 1946, the company has grown from a regional poultry business into an international food producer. Pilgrim’s Pride serves grocery retailers, restaurants, foodservice distributors and other commercial customers across the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom and Europe.