The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target to $36.00

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price target hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Tuesday. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 0.6 %

PPC opened at $35.77 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. Pilgrim’s Pride has a fifty-two week low of $19.96 and a fifty-two week high of $36.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.84 and its 200 day moving average is $28.55.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.16. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.49) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 257,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,565,405.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,462,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 238,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,190,000 after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 221,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,593,000 after buying an additional 35,859 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter worth approximately $360,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 23,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 5,208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.