Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Pilgrim's Pride shares hit a new 52-week low of $32.12 (last $32.22) on heavy intraday trading, leaving the stock below its 50- and 200-day moving averages and with a market cap of $7.58 billion.
• Several analysts have cut price targets and ratings — including Goldman Sachs to $39 and BMO to $40 — resulting in a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $41.
• The company missed quarterly EPS expectations ($0.64 vs. $0.78) while topping revenue estimates ($4.52B), and the CFO sold about 6,963 shares in February.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $32.12 and last traded at $32.2150, with a volume of 235083 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Stephens set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.77.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 35.15% and a net margin of 5.85%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 82.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim's Pride

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 6.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 100,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,950 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 136.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 180.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,774 shares of the company's stock worth $18,685,000 after buying an additional 220,673 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company's stock worth $67,758,000 after buying an additional 166,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company's stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim's Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company's vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.