Plato Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd made a new investment of $579,000 in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, acquiring 10,514 shares in the first quarter.
• During the same period, several institutional investors increased their stakes in Pilgrim's Pride, with Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC leading with a 77.0% increase in holdings.
• Pilgrim's Pride has received upgraded analyst ratings, including a shift from "buy" to "strong-buy" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 valued at $158,261,000 after acquiring an additional 29,549 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,370,927 shares of the company's stock worth $128,599,000 after purchasing an additional 487,219 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company's stock worth $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 166,967 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised 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 valued at $42,796,000 after buying an additional 341,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PPC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ:PPC traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,559,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,622. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12 month low of $40.09 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.53.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 37.15% and a net margin of 6.81%.The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th.

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.