Range Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 20,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 19,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.6% in the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens started 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 objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $45.33. The company had a trading volume of 747,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 975,713. The firm has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.20. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a one year low of $26.52 and a one year high of $55.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim’s Pride 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.