Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.58 and last traded at $35.7410, with a volume of 87249 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PPC. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Santander raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 35.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 82.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 147,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,099 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after buying an additional 11,576 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 755,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,442,000 after buying an additional 104,308 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth $4,732,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 731,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,508,000 after acquiring an additional 346,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.