Moran Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 105.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,375 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,610 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $8,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter valued at about $133,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.56. 2,073,286 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,817. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $37.28 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.48.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.95%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Pilgrim's Pride's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PPC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Santander began coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.67.

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.