Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Position Cut by Point72 Asset Management L.P.

Point72 Asset Management L.P. reduced its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,962 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,583,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 1st quarter valued at $904,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position 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 valued at $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 28,749 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth $5,024,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter valued at $787,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $281,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Argus upped their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 2.4 %

PPC stock opened at $44.60 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.98. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52-week low of $22.92 and a 52-week high of $49.07. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 25.06% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.