Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 411,656 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,830,054 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 411,656 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $144,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $28.68 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.29. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a 52 week low of $26.50 and a 52 week high of $50.56.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.18). Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 4.78%.The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens set a $40.00 price target on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.83.

Pilgrim’s Pride 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.