Denali Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,044 shares of the company's stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 18.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.70. 289,509 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,281,429. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.31 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PPC. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Company 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.