Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Santander upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of PPC stock opened at $41.65 on Wednesday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a fifty-two week low of $35.73 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.33. 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 cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 0.43.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.14). Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 35.68% and a net margin of 5.85%.The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 49,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kendall Capital Management boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 4.3% in the third quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Pilgrim’s Pride

Here are the key news stories impacting Pilgrim’s Pride this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Full-year strength: Pilgrim’s reported 2025 net sales of $18.5B, GAAP net income ~$1.1B and adjusted EBITDA of $2.27B, and management highlighted durable demand in U.S. Fresh and strong branded/prepared-foods growth. Pilgrim’s Pride Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns and liquidity: The company returned $2B via special dividends and reports net leverage under ~1.1x adjusted EBITDA — a positive for capital allocation and balance-sheet flexibility. Quiver AI summary of results
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational highlights: U.S. Prepared Foods grew >20% and the Just Bare® brand crossed $1B retail sales; Europe showed improving adjusted EBITDA and back‑office integration benefits. These are execution items to monitor for sustained margin recovery. Zacks: Q4 sales up 3.3% Y/Y
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials available: Management hosted an earnings presentation and slide deck/ conference call (useful for drilldowns on commodity exposure, litigation assumptions and segment trends). Earnings call presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 profit and EPS pressure: Q4 net sales were $4.52B (+3.3% Y/Y) but GAAP net income fell to $88M (GAAP EPS $0.37) and adjusted EPS was $0.68 — below some analyst consensus (~$0.78), triggering the sell‑off. Zacks: Q4 earnings and revenues miss
• Negative Sentiment: Margin headwinds and segment weakness: Adjusted EBITDA fell ~21% Y/Y in Q4 to $415M; Mexico’s adjusted EBITDA margin compressed sharply (1.8% in Q4) due to increased imports and weaker commodity fundamentals — a key risk for near-term profitability. WSJ: Profit slides on commodity trends
• Negative Sentiment: One‑time charges and litigation: The company recorded litigation‑related charges included in its non‑GAAP reconciliations (~$77M in Q4 adjustments) and restructuring costs — these reduce near‑term adjusted metrics and create earnings volatility. Press release (details on adjustments)

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.