Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PPC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 0.0 %

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.30. 864,528 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 833,617. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.95. Pilgrim's Pride has a fifty-two week low of $26.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50 day moving average is $48.96 and its 200-day moving average is $45.53.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 325.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,071 shares of the company's stock worth $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 42,136 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $808,000. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $949,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 201,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,292,000 after buying an additional 40,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Company 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.