D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Invests $5.14 Million in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 113,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,143,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after acquiring an additional 576,438 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 333,077 shares of the company's stock worth $15,118,000 after purchasing an additional 203,192 shares in the last quarter. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $8,381,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,601,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,513,000 after buying an additional 180,164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 1.4%

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.22. The company had a trading volume of 128,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,047. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $33.70 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The company has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is an increase from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.