Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 107,544 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 41.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,411 shares of the company's stock after selling 107,544 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.06% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $6,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth approximately $118,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.24. 127,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,189,907. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a one year low of $33.70 and a one year high of $57.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.01. The company has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.51.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $6.30 dividend. This is a boost from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.40.

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.