Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Sets New 12-Month High at $36.59

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $36.59 and last traded at $36.22, with a volume of 85050 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. TheStreet raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.16 and a 200-day moving average of $29.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 2.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $1,332,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 257,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,565,405.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,691,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,097,000 after buying an additional 72,446 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,299,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,939,000 after purchasing an additional 328,660 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,319,000 after purchasing an additional 8,173 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 593,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,548,000 after purchasing an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 300,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after buying an additional 2,966 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.