AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 25.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 2.37 million shares worth about $128.6 million.
• The company reported $1.70 EPS for the most recent quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 4.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Pilgrim's Pride's stock has a current average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $47.50.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,370,927 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 487,219 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.00% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $128,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PPC. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 827,381 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock worth $83,766,000 after purchasing an additional 389,967 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 77.0% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 785,098 shares of the company's stock worth $42,796,000 after purchasing an additional 341,517 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,070,893 shares of the company's stock worth $58,374,000 after purchasing an additional 221,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter worth approximately $11,430,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

PPC traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,276,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,955. The company has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.47 and a 200 day moving average of $48.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.63. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 1 year low of $40.09 and a 1 year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th.

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.