Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 28.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,311 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 742 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,119,000 after purchasing an additional 33,965 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,502,000 after purchasing an additional 576,438 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,766,000 after purchasing an additional 389,967 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,513,000 after purchasing an additional 180,164 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC opened at $45.77 on Monday. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $37.28 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.18. The company has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.95%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Six equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.