Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 52-Week High at $36.59

Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $36.59 and last traded at $36.22, with a volume of 85050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.25.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.16 and a 200 day moving average of $29.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 2.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Pilgrim's Pride

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 257,065 shares in the company, valued at $8,565,405.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 592.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 970,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,160,000 after purchasing an additional 830,555 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $7,856,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 763.1% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 215,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,968,000 after buying an additional 190,770 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth $5,131,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $5,024,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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