Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target Cut to $39.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $44.00 to $39.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

PPC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Santander raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $35.99 on Thursday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1 year low of $34.39 and a 1 year high of $55.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.35.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.14). Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 35.15% and a net margin of 5.85%.The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 82.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 147,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,099 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 11,576 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 755,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,442,000 after purchasing an additional 104,308 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $4,732,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 89.9% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 731,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,508,000 after purchasing an additional 346,061 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.