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

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.50.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PPC. Bank of America downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus boosted their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, 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 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew 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. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,745 shares of the company's stock worth $2,014,000 after buying an additional 10,489 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 3rd quarter worth $141,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 3rd quarter worth $808,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 3rd quarter worth $1,860,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.48. The company had a trading volume of 608,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,056. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.81. Pilgrim's Pride has a 12 month low of $25.23 and a 12 month high of $55.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $47.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.69.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.