Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 1-Year High at $45.65

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.65 and last traded at $45.57, with a volume of 377053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PPC shares. StockNews.com raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 2.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 25.06% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $281,515.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.