Pilgrim’s Pride’s (PPC) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Barclays

Barclays reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $38.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $35.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $36.25.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $35.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52 week low of $19.96 and a 52 week high of $36.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $1,332,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 257,065 shares in the company, valued at $8,565,405.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 107.7% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.