Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.41 and last traded at $26.3750, with a volume of 316781 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Friday. Barclays upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens set a $40.00 target price on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.89. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.29.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 21.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% during 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 during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.