Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Increases Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 268.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,708 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,282 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $1,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter worth approximately $74,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter valued at approximately $144,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen cut 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 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 target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.56 on Monday, hitting $48.41. The stock had a trading volume of 229,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,678. 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 one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $57.16. The stock has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.14.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

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.