South Dakota Investment Council Decreases Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 24.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,444 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,075 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $3,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake 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 worth $744,000 after buying an additional 827,381 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after buying an additional 576,438 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock worth $83,766,000 after buying an additional 389,967 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 333,077 shares of the company's stock worth $15,118,000 after purchasing an additional 203,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock worth $62,513,000 after purchasing an additional 180,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $47.82. The stock had a trading volume of 289,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,281,445. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12 month low of $39.31 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.45.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.95%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.67.

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.