American Century Companies Inc. Has $13.80 Million Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 88.7% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $13.8 million.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported earnings of $1.70 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.16, with a revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, marking a 4.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend of $2.10 per share, payable on September 3rd to shareholders of record as of August 20th.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 88.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,187 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 118,980 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.11% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $13,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter worth $11,125,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,903,586 shares of the company's stock worth $158,261,000 after buying an additional 29,549 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter valued at $11,430,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter valued at $1,569,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 20.7% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 19,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 3,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,092,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,276,787. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business's fifty day moving average price is $46.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.50. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a one year low of $40.09 and a one year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 37.15% and a net margin of 6.81%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.50.

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.