Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target Raised to $42.00

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Santander raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $43.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.43. Pilgrim’s Pride has a one year low of $35.73 and a one year high of $57.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 35.15% and a net margin of 5.85%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,248.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,522.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Pilgrim’s Pride

Here are the key news stories impacting Pilgrim’s Pride this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and branded growth beat expectations — Q4 net sales rose ~3.3% y/y and topped estimates, driven by a strong U.S. Prepared Foods business (Just Bare® momentum) and improved European performance; Pilgrim’s also returned $2 billion to shareholders. Pilgrim’s Pride Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Solid full‑year cash generation and leverage — FY2025 GAAP net income ~$1.1B and adjusted EBITDA ~ $2.27B, with net leverage below ~1.1x, which supports liquidity and shareholder returns. Quiver Quant: Pilgrim’s Pride Announces 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target modestly adjusted — BMO raised its price target from $40 to $42 and kept a “market perform” rating (target still implies limited upside/downside near current levels). The Fly: BMO raises PPC price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and slide deck are available — the earnings call/transcript and presentation give detail on segment mix, cost actions and outlook (useful for modeling near‑term margin recovery scenarios). Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 earnings missed consensus — reported EPS under consensus (the company reported a lower Q4 EPS vs. the ~$0.78 consensus), and adjusted EBITDA declined y/y in the quarter, signaling margin pressure. That miss is the proximate reason for investor concern. Zacks: Q4 results lag estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Margin compression and regional headwinds — analysts and deep‑dive coverage point to commodity cost volatility and weak Mexico margins (imports and live commodity market issues), increasing near‑term profit risk; Zacks also downgraded the stock to “strong sell.” MSN deep dive: Margin compression Zacks: PPC downgraded

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.