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

Key Points

• Pilgrim's Pride hit a new 52‑week low of $32.61 (last $32.90) and is trading below its 50‑day ($38.44) and 200‑day ($39.00) moving averages, indicating downward momentum.
• Analysts have trimmed ratings and targets (BMO to $40, Goldman to $39, Zacks to "strong sell"), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" with a $41 target price.
• The company missed quarterly EPS ($0.64 vs. $0.78) but topped revenue estimates ($4.52B vs. $4.39B); the CFO sold 6,963 shares and filings show insiders own about 82.23% of the stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $32.61 and last traded at $32.8960, with a volume of 32381 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 0.46.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.39 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 35.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $303,029.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 82.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim's Pride

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised 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 valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 6,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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