Accredited Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 19,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PPC shares. StockNews.com cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Santander began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $46.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52 week low of $33.70 and a 52 week high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $6.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.