Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Climb 7.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Pilgrim’s Pride shares surged 7.9% to $27.19 in Friday trading, despite volume running 44% below the daily average.
• Analysts remain cautious, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and a $36.50 average price target; UBS and Weiss reaffirmed neutral/hold views, while Bank of America lowered its target to $30.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with earnings of $0.64 per share versus $0.70 expected and revenue of $4.63 billion versus $4.70 billion, while revenue declined 2.8% year over year.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) shares rose 7.9% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $26.99 and last traded at $27.1850. 738,982 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 1,311,518 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 7.5%

The company has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.39.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 12.0% during the first 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 last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the second quarter worth approximately $138,936,000. Carrhae Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,185,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,237,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,746,000 after purchasing an additional 38,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 724.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,365,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,375,000 after buying an additional 1,199,625 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.

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.