Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives $46.33 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.3333.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Santander raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 0.7%

PPC stock opened at $39.97 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.89. Pilgrim’s Pride has a fifty-two week low of $35.73 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 0.43.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.11. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 135.2% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 98,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,363,000 after buying an additional 56,568 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 46.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.4% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 21,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter valued at approximately $394,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.