Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 290 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,044 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $5,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 1st quarter valued at $133,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter valued at $144,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter valued at about $146,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $44.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.45. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a one year low of $38.78 and a one year high of $57.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.71 and its 200-day moving average is $49.07.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

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.