Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from six brokerages, with one sell and five hold ratings.
• The company declared a special dividend of $2.10 per share paid on September 3rd, with an ex-dividend date on August 20th.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.70, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.6667.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PPC shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC opened at $37.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.37 and a 200 day moving average of $46.18. Pilgrim's Pride has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 1st quarter worth $355,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 1st quarter worth $3,348,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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