Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.53 EPS

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC – Get Rating) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.53, MarketWatch Earnings reports. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 28.52% and a net margin of 1.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS.

NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.93 on Friday, reaching $28.35. 920,536 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 964,876. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12 month low of $20.23 and a 12 month high of $29.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.05. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 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.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PPC shares. Barclays started 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. Stephens raised Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, March 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, February 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, TheStreet raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $31.25.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,239,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,948,000 after acquiring an additional 42,068 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 801,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,560 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 631,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,349,000 after acquiring an additional 105,384 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $12,434,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 329,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.73% of the company’s stock.

About Pilgrim’s Pride (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.

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