Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has acquired 28,786 shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) valued at approximately $1.57 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Recent updates from analysts show a shift, with Wall Street Zen downgrading Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, while Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a "neutral" rating and a price target of $50.00.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported a quarterly earnings of $1.70 per share, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $4.76 billion, reflecting a 4.3% year-over-year increase.

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,569,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,502,000 after acquiring an additional 576,438 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $83,766,000 after purchasing an additional 389,967 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock worth $51,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,070,893 shares of the company's stock worth $58,374,000 after purchasing an additional 221,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,805 shares of the company's stock worth $40,761,000 after purchasing an additional 15,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

PPC stock opened at $49.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.34. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63 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. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 1 year low of $40.09 and a 1 year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. The company 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%. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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