Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Pilgrim's Pride has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• The company has a current price target of $47.50 and reported an earnings of $1.70 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.54 EPS.
• Institutional investors have made notable adjustments to their positions in Pilgrim's Pride, indicating ongoing interest among significant shareholders.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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 target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

PPC stock traded down $0.93 on Friday, hitting $41.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,047,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,347. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Pilgrim's Pride has a 12-month low of $40.92 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The stock has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.27.

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

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim's Pride

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 309.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 651 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 117.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,231 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.