New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 5,484 Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 295.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 132.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPC has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.33.

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Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $49.47. 2,279,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,098,171. The stock has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.09. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders 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 positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.