Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 12-Month High at $34.70

Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.70 and last traded at $34.64, with a volume of 13259 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet raised Pilgrim's Pride from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73 and a beta of 0.82.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.16. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.49) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim's Pride

In other news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $1,332,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,565,405.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 82.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.