UBS Group Upgrades Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) to “Hold”

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PPC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Stephens set a $40.00 target price on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.20.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

PPC opened at $28.65 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.86 and its 200-day moving average is $37.95. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Pilgrim’s Pride has a twelve month low of $27.13 and a twelve month high of $51.24.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.