Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

Several research firms have recently commented on PPC. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 295.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $45.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.53. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52-week low of $26.52 and a 52-week high of $55.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.84.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 5.12 earnings per share 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.