Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 282.2% during the second quarter, now owning 214,272 shares worth approximately $9.7 million.
• A majority of analysts have issued Hold or Sell ratings on Pilgrim's Pride, with Goldman Sachs lowering the target price from $54.00 to $46.00, indicating a neutral outlook.
• Pilgrim's Pride recently announced a special dividend of $2.10 per share, paid to investors of record on August 20th.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 282.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 214,272 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 158,206 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.09% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $9,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 309.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 651 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 1st quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PPC. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $47.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $37.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.63. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 52-week low of $37.03 and a 52-week high of $57.16.

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

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.

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