Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.10), Zacks reports. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 38.17%.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 1.0%

PPC stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.19. 779,839 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 884,790. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day moving average of $41.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1 year low of $35.73 and a 1 year high of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 0.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 100,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,479,000 after buying an additional 5,950 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 136.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 180.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,685,000 after purchasing an additional 220,673 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew 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 during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Santander raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.