Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC – Get Rating) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PPC. StockNews.com began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, February 28th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 10th. Barclays began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, March 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Friday, February 18th.

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $27.36 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.07. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52-week low of $20.23 and a 52-week high of $29.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 210.48, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 9th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.16. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 0.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 588.3% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 384,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,538,000 after purchasing an additional 329,035 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 920.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 134,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,922,000 after purchasing an additional 121,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 89,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 18,694 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.73% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile (Get Rating)

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation engages in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken, and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Middle East, Asia, Continental Europe, and internationally.

Featured Stories