Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Argus raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $55.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Pilgrim’s Pride traded as high as $46.30 and last traded at $45.60, with a volume of 68187 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.69.

PPC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,233,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,310,000 after purchasing an additional 136,970 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,691,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,097,000 after purchasing an additional 72,446 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,299,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,939,000 after acquiring an additional 328,660 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,319,000 after acquiring an additional 8,173 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,320,000 after acquiring an additional 501,776 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.65.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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.