Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 60,388 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 43.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,388 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $3,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $38.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.73 and a 1 year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PPC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, December 29th. Santander raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

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.