Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Pilgrim’s Pride has an average analyst rating of “Hold”, with six firms covering the stock: one sell, three hold, and two buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is $40.25.
• The stock was recently down 4.3% and opened at $29.10, near its 52-week low of $29.09. It also trades well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• In its latest quarterly results, Pilgrim’s Pride reported EPS of $0.51, missing estimates, though revenue of $4.53 billion came in above expectations. The company’s revenue rose 1.6% year over year, but analysts still expect $3.87 EPS for the full year.

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.25.

PPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Pilgrim's Pride from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stephens set a $40.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th.

Insider Activity at Pilgrim's Pride

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 91,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 82.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 100,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,479,000 after acquiring an additional 5,950 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 136.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 180.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,685,000 after acquiring an additional 220,673 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,758,000 after acquiring an additional 166,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of PPC stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. Pilgrim's Pride has a 52-week low of $29.09 and a 52-week high of $51.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.55.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.18). Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 4.78%.The business had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim's Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company's vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.

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