Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 121.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,099 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $1,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $29.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.48. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a one year low of $27.13 and a one year high of $50.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.64.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.18). Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens set a $40.00 target price on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.20.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.