Fmr LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Fmr LLC decreased its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,599 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 165.0% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 96,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,453,000 after acquiring an additional 60,201 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 27.7% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 151,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,969,000 after buying an additional 32,836 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 89.4% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 36,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 17,260 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 13,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter valued at $878,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PPC. Argus raised their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

PPC opened at $49.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $25.68 and a 1 year high of $55.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim’s Pride 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.