Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Takes $3.35 Million Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 61,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $133,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PPC shares. Santander initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of PPC stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,073,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,817. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.32. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $37.28 and a 12-month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 36.95% and a net margin of 6.72%. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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.