The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target to $46.00

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price objective trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $54.00 to $46.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $47.67.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $38.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.37 and its 200-day moving average is $46.67. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $37.03 and a 12-month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 59.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,776,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405,251 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,459,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,635,000 after acquiring an additional 477,216 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter worth $18,231,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 22.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,171,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,689,000 after acquiring an additional 404,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter valued at about $17,569,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.