Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,658 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,584 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $5,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

PPC stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.92. 69,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 661,504. The company has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.78. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52-week low of $21.41 and a 52-week high of $39.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 17.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

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.