Barclays Boosts Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target to $49.00

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $45.00 to $49.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.33% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ:PPC traded up $2.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.69. The company had a trading volume of 659,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,408. The company has a market capitalization of $12.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52-week low of $25.23 and a 52-week high of $51.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 31.38% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,440,642.50. This 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased 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 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter valued at $904,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter worth about $787,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 1st quarter valued at about $934,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.