Jump Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 35,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $987,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPC. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,001,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 734,588 shares of the company's stock worth $20,319,000 after acquiring an additional 8,173 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 25,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,921 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $861,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $37.36. The company had a trading volume of 664,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,339. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.39 and a 200-day moving average of $30.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $19.96 and a twelve month high of $39.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.77.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total value of $1,332,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 257,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,565,405.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 82.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PPC. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet upgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.25.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.