Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 10,276 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 6.9%, selling 10,276 shares during the second quarter and now owning 139,099 shares valued at approximately $6.26 million.
• Recent ratings on Pilgrim's Pride have seen a downgrade from Zacks Research to a "strong sell", and a decrease in price target from Goldman Sachs from $54 to $46.
• The company recently announced a special dividend of $2.10 per share, which was paid out on September 3rd to shareholders of record on August 20th.

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,099 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,276 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned 0.06% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $6,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 309.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 651 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 46.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $47.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

PPC opened at $38.07 on Wednesday. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $37.03 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The stock has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.60 and a 200-day moving average of $46.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

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

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.

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