Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

PPC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $34.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $19.96 and a 12-month high of $34.79.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.49) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $1,332,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 257,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,565,405.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 107.7% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.