BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock Price

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 10.79% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.67.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 1.9%

Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $36.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.78 and its 200-day moving average is $39.76. Pilgrim’s Pride has a fifty-two week low of $34.39 and a fifty-two week high of $56.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 82.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 4.3% during the third quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.