Dean Investment Associates LLC Sells 27,497 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Dean Investment Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,833 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,497 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $4,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,836 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,259 shares of the company's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 19.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.2% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 13,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.36. 669,120 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 789,676. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two week high of $55.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.