Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PPC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Santander started coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 2.9%

NASDAQ:PPC traded up $1.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.64. 1,386,875 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,180,411. Pilgrim's Pride has a one year low of $33.70 and a one year high of $57.16. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.17. The company has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.51.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim's Pride

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 75,632 shares of the company's stock worth $4,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the first quarter valued at $418,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 166,967 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 72.5% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 35,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 15,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $18,685,000 after acquiring an additional 220,673 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Company 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.