Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Posts Earnings Results

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.14), FiscalAI reports. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 35.68%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Pilgrim’s Pride stock traded up $1.57 on Friday, hitting $43.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 256,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,080. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.33. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Pilgrim’s Pride has a one year low of $35.73 and a one year high of $57.16.

Key Pilgrim’s Pride News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pilgrim’s Pride this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company press release: Pilgrim’s reported full‑year 2025 net sales of $18.5B, GAAP net income of ~$1.1B, robust adjusted EBITDA and highlighted growth in U.S. Prepared Foods (Just Bare® hitting $1B retail sales). Management also returned $2B to shareholders — a clear positive for investor returns and confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat: Sales rose ~3.3% Y/Y to about $4.52B, coming in above consensus and showing strength in Europe and Prepared Foods — revenue outperformance helped offset the EPS shortfall. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO price‑target tweak: BMO Capital Markets raised its Pilgrim’s target to $42 from $40 but kept a “market perform” rating — a modest signal that the name is fairly valued near current levels rather than a strong buy catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcript & slide deck posted: Management provided the Q4 earnings presentation and call transcript (useful for parsing regional trends, margin drivers and commentary on commodity exposure). Analysts and traders often re‑price stocks after reviewing slides/call color. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS miss and profit pressure: Pilgrim’s reported Q4 GAAP EPS that fell well short of consensus (quarterly EPS declined year‑over‑year) and management cited challenging commodity trends that compressed margins — a clear near‑term headwind for earnings momentum. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgrade: Zacks Research cut the stock from “hold” to “strong sell,” adding bearish analyst pressure that can amplify downward moves even after mixed results. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PPC shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Santander raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,482,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,512,000 after purchasing an additional 705,946 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,418,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,296,000 after buying an additional 742,204 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 22.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,171,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,689,000 after acquiring an additional 404,915 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,661,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,774,000 after buying an additional 108,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 166,967 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.