D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 113,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,143,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $118,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $48.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.51. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 12-month low of $33.70 and a 12-month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $6.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a boost from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PPC shares. Santander initiated coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.40.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.