Aberdeen Group plc Purchases New Shares in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has made a new investment of approximately $11.13 million in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, acquiring 204,100 shares.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported earnings per share of $1.70 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $1.54, with a revenue of $4.76 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $2.10 per share, which will be paid to shareholders on September 3rd.

Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 204,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,125,000. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.09% of Pilgrim's Pride at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,903,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,261,000 after buying an additional 29,549 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after purchasing an additional 576,438 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,766,000 after buying an additional 389,967 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,070,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,374,000 after purchasing an additional 221,617 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 13.5% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 394,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,506,000 after purchasing an additional 47,045 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PPC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $45.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,443,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,379,514. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 1 year low of $40.09 and a 1 year high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50 day moving average is $46.69 and its 200-day moving average is $49.38.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 37.15% and a net margin of 6.81%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.