Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.3333.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Santander raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 0.9%

PPC stock opened at $43.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.52. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12 month low of $35.73 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.43.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.11. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 6.70%.The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 49,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kendall Capital Management lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.