Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $34.37 and last traded at $34.4810, with a volume of 33089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.46.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.14). Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 35.15%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 82.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 147,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,099 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 11,576 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 755,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,442,000 after purchasing an additional 104,308 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,732,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 89.9% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 731,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,508,000 after purchasing an additional 346,061 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.