Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Hits New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Pilgrim’s Pride shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $25.53 versus a prior close of $27.01.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $36.50; Bank of America recently cut its target from $37 to $30.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $0.64 versus $0.70 expected and revenue down 2.8% year over year to $4.63 billion.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $25.53 and last traded at $25.6140, with a volume of 607587 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PPC. Bank of America decreased their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $29.26 and its 200 day moving average is $30.47.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 21.70%. The business's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim's Pride

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the second quarter worth approximately $138,936,000. Carrhae Capital LLP purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,185,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 724.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,365,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,625 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,830,054 shares of the company's stock worth $144,617,000 after purchasing an additional 411,656 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 262.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 547,122 shares of the company's stock worth $15,380,000 after purchasing an additional 396,181 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim's Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation NASDAQ: PPC is a food company that produces, processes, markets and distributes a broad range of poultry and prepared food products. Its offerings include fresh and frozen chicken, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products, deli items, snacks, and other value-added foods sold to retailers, foodservice operators and industrial customers.

The company markets products under brands that include Pilgrim's, Just Bare, Gold'n Plump, Moy Park and Pilgrim's Food Masters, along with private-label products.

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