Wright Investors Service Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Wright Investors Service Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth approximately $118,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 1st quarter worth approximately $133,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,504. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $50.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.93. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 12-month low of $33.70 and a 12-month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd.

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.