Great Lakes Advisors LLC Invests $418,000 in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired 7,670 shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation ($PPC), valued at approximately $418,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported a $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.54, alongside a revenue of $4.76 billion.
• The company recently announced a $2.10 special dividend paid out to shareholders, reflecting strong financial performance and a commitment to returning value to investors.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of 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 and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 12,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,047,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,347. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.27. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $40.92 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.50.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.50.

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.