Analysts Set Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) PT at $45.50

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

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPC. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 0.6 %

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $45.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,542,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,893. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.33. Pilgrim's Pride has a fifty-two week low of $26.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.50.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 295.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

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.