Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC Stake Raised by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 448% during Q2, now owning 396,785 shares valued at $17.8 million.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported earnings of $1.70 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.16, with year-over-year revenue growth of 4.3%.
• The company recently paid a special dividend of $2.10 per share to shareholders on record as of August 20th, further indicating strong financial performance.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 448.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 396,785 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 324,382 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.17% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $17,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 25.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,370,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,599,000 after buying an additional 487,219 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 77.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 180.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,774 shares of the company's stock worth $18,685,000 after purchasing an additional 220,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter worth approximately $11,430,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $37.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 0.45. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.03 and a 1 year high of $57.16. The business's fifty day moving average is $42.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.33. 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 (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 37.15% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $47.67.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.

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