Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires New Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock worth $51,079,000 after buying an additional 119,555 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $331,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter worth $386,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 879,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,122,653. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1-year low of $33.67 and a 1-year high of $57.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.58.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PPC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.