Pilgrim’s Pride Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PPC)

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 3,289 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 481% compared to the average volume of 566 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America downgraded shares of 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, August 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.80.

Insider Activity

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,035,000. Creative Planning raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 16.8% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 74,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $41.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.29. The company has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride has a one year low of $22.33 and a one year high of $47.44.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 25.06%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

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.