26,073 Shares in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC Acquired by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired 26,073 shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, valued at approximately $1,421,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Several other institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Pilgrim's Pride, with Brooklyn Investment Group raising its holdings by 309.4% in the same quarter.
• Pilgrim's Pride recently reported earnings of $1.70 per share, outperforming analysts' expectations, along with a special dividend of $2.10 per share paid to stockholders.

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 26,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,421,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.0% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 827,381 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 25.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,370,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,599,000 after acquiring an additional 487,219 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 389,967 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 77.0% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 785,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,796,000 after acquiring an additional 341,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 221,617 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 3.6%

NASDAQ:PPC traded down $1.59 on Wednesday, hitting $42.08. 599,338 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,310,676. The stock has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.43 and a 200-day moving average of $48.78. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $40.09 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 37.15% and a net margin of 6.81%.The firm's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. 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 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.50.

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.