Signet Financial Management LLC Invests $2.77 Million in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Signet Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 50,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,774,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 1st quarter valued at $347,000. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the company's stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 1st quarter worth $185,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter valued at about $382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Santander began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 1.1%

PPC traded down $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,403,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,139. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $33.94 and a twelve month high of $57.16. The stock has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $49.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $6.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

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.