Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Strong Sell"

Key Points

• Pilgrim's Pride has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "strong sell" rating by Zacks Research, indicating negative sentiment among analysts.
• The stock currently has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion with a PE ratio of 7.48, showing a significant decrease in investor confidence.
• Despite the downgrade, the company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.3%.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PPC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock opened at $38.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a PE ratio of 7.48 and a beta of 0.45. Pilgrim's Pride has a 52-week low of $37.03 and a 52-week high of $57.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $44.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PPC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,782 shares of the company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,087,000 after buying an additional 8,645 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

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.

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