Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Trading Down 3.8% - Time to Sell?

Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) was down 3.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $47.42 and last traded at $47.72. Approximately 244,373 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,188,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 0.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.51.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $6.30 dividend. This is a boost from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 345.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,516,000 after buying an additional 59,228 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 2,319 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. RHS Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 9,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,501,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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.