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

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.6667.

A number of research firms recently commented on PPC. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 1.2%

PPC stock opened at $49.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.45 and a 200-day moving average of $49.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.63. Pilgrim's Pride has a one year low of $40.09 and a one year high of $57.16.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 827,381 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,502,000 after acquiring an additional 576,438 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,766,000 after acquiring an additional 389,967 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 77.0% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 785,098 shares of the company's stock worth $42,796,000 after acquiring an additional 341,517 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 448.0% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 396,785 shares of the company's stock worth $17,847,000 after purchasing an additional 324,382 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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