Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 56.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% in 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 boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 18.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 28.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:PPC traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.94. 785,091 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,276,324. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.00 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Company 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.