Mount Lucas Management LP Purchases New Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,044 shares of the company's stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,113,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.85. The company had a trading volume of 729,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,348. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 52 week low of $40.00 and a 52 week high of $57.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.65 and a 200-day moving average of $49.09. The firm has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.45.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 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 firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PPC. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.