Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC cut its position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 60.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,300 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,940 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 132.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $118,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the third quarter valued at $141,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.07. 846,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,168,306. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.59 and a 200 day moving average of $50.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.51. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.70 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $6.30 dividend. This is an increase from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PPC. StockNews.com raised shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Santander began 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 objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.40.

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.