PDT Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 347,616 Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC

PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 347,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,771,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPC. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter worth $1,806,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter valued at $685,000. L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter valued at $992,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter worth $358,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $32.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.66. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.90 and a 12-month high of $45.44.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 21.70% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PPC. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.