Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday. The company traded as low as $25.53 and last traded at $25.6140, with a volume of 607587 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PPC. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 36,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) is a food company that produces, processes, markets and distributes a broad range of poultry and prepared food products. Its offerings include fresh and frozen chicken, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products, deli items, snacks, and other value-added foods sold to retailers, foodservice operators and industrial customers.

The company markets products under brands that include Pilgrim’s, Just Bare, Gold’n Plump, Moy Park and Pilgrim’s Food Masters, along with private-label products.