Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.58 and last traded at $35.7410, with a volume of 87249 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PPC. Zacks Research lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Santander upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 3.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.10. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 0.41.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 35.15% and a net margin of 5.85%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 82.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 147,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,777,000 after buying an additional 36,099 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 11,576 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 755,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,442,000 after purchasing an additional 104,308 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth $4,732,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 731,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,508,000 after purchasing an additional 346,061 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.