Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 1,199,625 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates increased its Pilgrim’s Pride stake by 724.7% in the second quarter, acquiring 1,199,625 shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,365,157 shares valued at approximately $38.4 million.
• Several major institutions also expanded their positions, including Vanguard, AQR Capital, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Bank of America, while BlackRock initiated a new position. Institutional investors collectively own 16.64% of PPC.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $36.50, despite recent target cuts. Pilgrim’s Pride reported quarterly EPS of $0.64, below the $0.70 estimate, while revenue fell 2.8% year over year to $4.63 billion.

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 724.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,365,157 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,199,625 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.57% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $38,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,306,000 after purchasing an additional 131,482 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 2nd quarter worth about $138,936,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,482,124 shares of the company's stock worth $182,512,000 after buying an additional 705,946 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,830,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,617,000 after buying an additional 411,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,171,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,689,000 after buying an additional 404,915 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PPC shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock opened at $31.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $28.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.40. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.29. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.90 and a 12 month high of $45.44.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.06). Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 21.70% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim's Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company's vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.

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