Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.00. 1,944,561 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,285,320. The company has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Pilgrim's Pride has a 12-month low of $39.31 and a 12-month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 36.95% and a net margin of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth $626,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,664,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 125.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 6,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.