United Capital Management of KS Inc. Invests $6.28 Million in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

United Capital Management of KS Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 136,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,277,000. Pilgrim's Pride accounts for about 1.4% of United Capital Management of KS Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. United Capital Management of KS Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Pilgrim's Pride at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,233,961 shares of the company's stock worth $145,310,000 after buying an additional 136,970 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 145,879.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company's stock worth $38,116,000 after purchasing an additional 827,134 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 366.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,320,000 after purchasing an additional 501,776 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 16.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 635,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,450,000 after purchasing an additional 91,127 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 88.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 433,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,981,000 after purchasing an additional 203,408 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.61 on Monday, hitting $53.21. The company had a trading volume of 395,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,849. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.81. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 12-month low of $25.23 and a 12-month high of $55.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $45.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.33.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PPC. Barclays boosted their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upped their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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 target price for the company. Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.50.

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.