Range Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 26.5% in Q2, owning 29,027 shares valued at $1,306,000.
• Several institutional investors also raised their holdings in Pilgrim's Pride, with Point72 Asset Management increasing its stake by 102.0% in Q4.
• Pilgrim's Pride recently reported $1.70 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, and declared a special dividend of $2.10 per share.

Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 26.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,027 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,073 shares during the quarter. Range Financial Group LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,903,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,261,000 after purchasing an additional 29,549 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $128,599,000 after acquiring an additional 487,219 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company's stock worth $67,758,000 after acquiring an additional 166,967 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 221,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 341,517 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,746,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,922. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 52 week low of $40.57 and a 52 week high of $57.16. The company has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $46.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.27.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

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

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.