Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 13.5%, owning a total of 394,542 shares worth approximately $21.5 million.
• The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.54, along with a revenue increase of 4.3% year-over-year.
• Pilgrim's Pride is currently rated as a "Hold" by analysts, with an average price target of $48.67.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 394,542 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 47,045 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.17% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $21,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 18.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 56,066 shares of the company's stock worth $3,154,000 after purchasing an additional 8,638 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth $551,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 18.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth $440,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth $7,835,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PPC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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 target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded up $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.38. The company had a trading volume of 79,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,213. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.23. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $40.09 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.50. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. Pilgrim's Pride's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

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.