Quest Partners LLC Trims Stake in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Quest Partners LLC trimmed its position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 60.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,332 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,802 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.71. The stock had a trading volume of 620,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,526. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $47.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.37. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 52-week low of $25.23 and a 52-week high of $55.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Pilgrim's Pride's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.