Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.25.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PPC. TheStreet raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,405.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $35.57 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.36. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1-year low of $19.96 and a 1-year high of $36.15. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.82.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.16. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.49) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

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.