Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 636,184 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors slashed its Pilgrim’s Pride stake by 99.2% in the first quarter, selling 636,184 shares and retaining just 4,929 shares valued at approximately $186,000.
• Pilgrim’s Pride reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.64 per share versus the $0.70 consensus estimate and revenue of $4.63 billion, down 2.8% year over year.
• PPC shares opened at $26.86, near their 12-month low, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $36.50.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 99.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,929 shares of the company's stock after selling 636,184 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,306,000 after acquiring an additional 131,482 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 65.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 566,247 shares of the company's stock worth $21,381,000 after purchasing an additional 223,256 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,199,324 shares of the company's stock worth $46,762,000 after purchasing an additional 70,559 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 832.5% in the first quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 96,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 86,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 164.8% in the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 37,784 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

PPC stock opened at $26.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.35 and a 200-day moving average of $33.48. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.90 and a 12-month high of $50.09.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.06). Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 21.70% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business had revenue of $4.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PPC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised Pilgrim's Pride from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens set a $40.00 price objective on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.50.

About Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim's Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company's vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.

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