Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock Position Decreased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,857 shares of the company’s stock after selling 936 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,289.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,225,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,621,000 after buying an additional 4,849,147 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 145,879.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,116,000 after acquiring an additional 827,134 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,320,000 after acquiring an additional 501,776 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 88.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 433,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,981,000 after purchasing an additional 203,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,233,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,310,000 after purchasing an additional 136,970 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $50.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.54. The company has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.81. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $25.23 and a twelve month high of $55.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 29.92%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PPC. Barclays boosted their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus boosted their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.