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

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PPC. Santander began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 0.9%

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.43. The stock had a trading volume of 938,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,195,243. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.99. Pilgrim's Pride has a 12 month low of $33.70 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.0% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 827,381 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after purchasing an additional 576,438 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock worth $83,766,000 after purchasing an additional 389,967 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 77.0% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 785,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,796,000 after purchasing an additional 341,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,070,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,374,000 after buying an additional 221,617 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.