SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 8,645 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 76.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,940 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,645 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $1,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 117,415 shares of the company's stock worth $5,329,000 after purchasing an additional 6,485 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,236,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,207 shares of the company's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.8% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 20,866 shares of the company's stock worth $947,000 after acquiring an additional 10,578 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $691,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock remained flat at $45.90 on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 1,390,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,383. The stock has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $49.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.59. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.76 and a 12 month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS 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.