Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. invested approximately $972,000 in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, acquiring 21,615 shares during the second quarter.
• Analysts have issued a consensus rating of "Hold" for Pilgrim's Pride, with a price target of $47.50, and Goldman Sachs has initiated coverage with a neutral rating.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported an EPS of $1.70 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.3%.

Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 21,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,903,586 shares of the company's stock worth $158,261,000 after purchasing an additional 29,549 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 25.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company's stock worth $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 166,967 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,070,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,374,000 after purchasing an additional 221,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 77.0% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 785,098 shares of the company's stock worth $42,796,000 after buying an additional 341,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 1.7%

PPC stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,747,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,382,158. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 52-week low of $40.57 and a 52-week high of $57.16. The firm has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.18. 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 (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.50.

Pilgrim's Pride 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.