Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Announces Dividend Increase – $6.30 Per Share

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) announced a special dividend on Friday, March 14th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of 6.30 per share on Thursday, April 24th. This is a 129.1% increase from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $49.62 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.13. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52-week low of $33.25 and a 52-week high of $57.16. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPC. Santander began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.50.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.