XTX Topco Ltd Takes Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd acquired 73,390 shares in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, valued at approximately $4 million, marking a significant investment by the institutional investor.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.31 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.05, despite a revenue of $4.46 billion that fell short of estimates.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Pilgrim's Pride, with an average target price of $48.67, reflecting mixed sentiment about the company's future performance.

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 73,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,000,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPC. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.93. 1,465,490 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,690. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12 month low of $40.09 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The firm has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.14.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 36.86% and a net margin of 6.81%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride 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.