Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $34.39 and last traded at $35.22, with a volume of 733784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PPC. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Santander raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.01 and its 200-day moving average is $39.82.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares in the company, valued at $3,977,597.44. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 82.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,306,000 after acquiring an additional 131,482 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,482,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,512,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,418,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,296,000 after purchasing an additional 742,204 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,171,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,689,000 after purchasing an additional 404,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,661,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,774,000 after purchasing an additional 108,949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.