Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 56.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,721 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,190 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company's stock worth $232,119,000 after acquiring an additional 33,965 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after acquiring an additional 576,438 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock worth $83,766,000 after acquiring an additional 389,967 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock worth $62,513,000 after acquiring an additional 180,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock worth $51,079,000 after acquiring an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 1.1%

PPC traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.54. 68,016 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,271,228. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a one year low of $38.78 and a one year high of $57.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.07.

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 firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.67.

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.