Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,204 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,372 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $4,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $1.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.51. The stock had a trading volume of 485,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,102,314. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm's 50 day moving average is $47.73 and its 200 day moving average is $47.14. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a one year low of $28.49 and a one year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.