Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $45.00 to $49.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on PPC. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

PPC traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.17. 1,827,521 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 902,916. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $44.98 and its 200 day moving average is $40.66. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52 week low of $25.23 and a 52 week high of $51.21.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,440,642.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,440,642.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.6% in the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.