Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.50.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter valued at about $138,936,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,482,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,512,000 after acquiring an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 12.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,830,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,617,000 after acquiring an additional 411,656 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 22.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,171,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,689,000 after acquiring an additional 404,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carrhae Capital LLP bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth $52,185,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $30.24 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.62. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1-year low of $25.90 and a 1-year high of $44.84. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 21.70% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) is a food company engaged primarily in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of poultry products. Its offerings include fresh, frozen and prepared chicken, as well as ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook foods sold to retailers, foodservice operators and other commercial customers.

The company markets products under brands that include Pilgrim’s, Just Bare, Gold’n Plump, Country Pride and Pierce. Its portfolio includes whole chickens, chicken parts, breaded and formed products, deli items, sausages and other prepared foods designed for retail and foodservice use.

Pilgrim’s Pride traces its history to 1946, when Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim and his brother opened a feed and seed store in Pittsburg, Texas.