Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 215.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,553 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,035 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 56,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,154,000 after purchasing an additional 8,638 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 26.5% in the second quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 29,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 135.2% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 98,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,363,000 after purchasing an additional 56,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 129.6% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 62,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,430,000 after purchasing an additional 35,512 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $40.92 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.47. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a 1-year low of $39.90 and a 1-year high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.45.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.