GAMMA Investing LLC Has $9.48 Million Stock Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 6,367.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,832 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 171,144 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $9,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,381,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 58,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 13,459 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 28,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 12,149 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 15,211 shares of the company's stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 5,798 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 2.3%

PPC stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $45.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,289,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,335. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.83. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $33.94 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.48.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released 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. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $6.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PPC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

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.