Bank of America Boosts Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target to $40.00

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on PPC. Barclays lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, TheStreet raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $35.43 on Monday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a fifty-two week low of $19.96 and a fifty-two week high of $36.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.82.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.49) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $1,332,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,565,405.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 82.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 284.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 50,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 37,215 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $441,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 30.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 37.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 32,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 8,745 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.