Mackenzie Financial Corp Makes New Investment in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,445 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $47.49. 975,887 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,197,672. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.93. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.94 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $6.30 dividend. This is an increase from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd.

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.