Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Buys 48,751 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 117.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,303 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,751 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $4,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,119,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,502,000 after buying an additional 576,438 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,766,000 after buying an additional 389,967 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,513,000 after buying an additional 180,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,079,000 after buying an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ PPC traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.85. 729,374 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,193,348. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $40.00 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The firm has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Pilgrim's Pride 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.