Navellier & Associates Inc. Grows Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Key Points

• Navellier & Associates Inc. significantly increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 172.9%, acquiring an additional 45,490 shares and holding a total of 71,800 shares worth approximately $3.91 million at the latest reporting period.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions in Pilgrim's Pride, with Vanguard Group Inc. and AQR Capital Management boosting their stakes by 0.7% and 44.1% respectively in the fourth quarter.
• Pilgrim's Pride recently reported $1.31 earnings per share for its last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.26, while its revenue reached $4.46 billion, slightly below the anticipated $4.53 billion.

Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 172.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,800 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,490 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $3,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PPC. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 827,381 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after buying an additional 576,438 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock worth $83,766,000 after buying an additional 389,967 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 333,077 shares of the company's stock worth $15,118,000 after buying an additional 203,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock worth $62,513,000 after buying an additional 180,164 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

PPC traded up $0.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $48.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 379,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,843. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.14. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 1 year low of $40.00 and a 1 year high of $57.16. The company has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.45.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.67.

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.