Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 98,498 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC trimmed its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 86.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,051 shares of the company's stock after selling 98,498 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $820,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 19,033 shares of the company's stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander began coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.08. 977,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,225,944. 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 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $48.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.43.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 36.95% and a net margin of 6.72%. The company 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 company posted $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share 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.