Quadrature Capital Ltd Invests $904,000 in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 26,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter worth $38,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter valued at $251,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

PPC stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.63. 512,028 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 488,082. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.78. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.33 and a fifty-two week high of $41.75.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.60.

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.