Oxford Asset Management LLP Takes $426,000 Position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 345.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company's stock worth $3,516,000 after buying an additional 59,228 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $808,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,745 shares of the company's stock worth $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 10,489 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 325.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,071 shares of the company's stock worth $2,485,000 after buying an additional 42,136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com lowered Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

PPC stock traded up $0.60 on Wednesday, reaching $54.58. 1,256,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $52.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.03. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.63.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $6.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a boost from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

Pilgrim's Pride Profile

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.