Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 2,393,735 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 186% from the previous session’s volume of 836,867 shares.The stock last traded at $43.37 and had previously closed at $42.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.80.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 25.06%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPC. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth about $1,583,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 1st quarter worth approximately $904,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 173.9% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 45,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 28,749 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,024,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter worth $787,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company 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.