Hennessy Advisors Inc. Invests $8.25 Million in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. has invested approximately $8.25 million in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, acquiring 183,500 shares of the company.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their holdings in Pilgrim's Pride, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 16.64%.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported earnings of $1.70 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $4.76 billion.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 183,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,254,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.08% of Pilgrim's Pride as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 12,359 shares of the company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PPC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Saturday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 0.5%

PPC opened at $40.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th.

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.

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