Wall Street Zen Upgrades Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) to Strong-Buy

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PPC. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.62. The company had a trading volume of 958,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,877. The stock has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.43. Pilgrim's Pride has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.95%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim's Pride

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 309.4% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 651 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter worth $43,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the first quarter valued at $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

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.