Kestra Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 72.5%, acquiring an additional 15,121 shares, bringing its total holdings to 35,987 shares valued at approximately $1.95 million.
• Major institutional investors like Millennium Management LLC and MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS also significantly boosted their shares in Pilgrim's Pride, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported $1.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $4.76 billion, marking a 4.3% increase year-over-year.

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 72.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,987 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,121 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $1,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 180.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,685,000 after purchasing an additional 220,673 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 136.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 50.3% during the first quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 425,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,197,000 after purchasing an additional 142,460 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,421,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 25.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,370,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,599,000 after purchasing an additional 487,219 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.32. The stock had a trading volume of 930,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,221. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.35 and a 200-day moving average of $48.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.50. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $40.09 and a 12-month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.50.

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.