Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Price Target Raised to $43.00 at Barclays

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its target price upped by Barclays from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.40.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Pilgrim’s Pride stock traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,336,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,093. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Pilgrim’s Pride has a fifty-two week low of $22.33 and a fifty-two week high of $44.62. The company has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% during the first 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 period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 31,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 35,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.