Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 307,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,790 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.13% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $11,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PPC. Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 1st quarter valued at about $437,000. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 68.7% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 111,201 shares of the company's stock worth $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 45,300 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 16.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 52,407 shares of the company's stock worth $1,979,000 after purchasing an additional 7,504 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 17.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 76,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 11,121 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 134.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 112,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,234,000 after purchasing an additional 64,292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 3.2%

PPC stock opened at $32.25 on Friday. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.90 and a twelve month high of $47.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.89.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.06). Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 21.70%. The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PPC shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Pilgrim's Pride from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.50.

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.

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