Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on PPC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Barclays raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens set a $40.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.20.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

PPC stock opened at $28.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.48. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52 week low of $27.13 and a 52 week high of $51.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.86 and its 200 day moving average is $37.95. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.18). Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 100,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,950 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 136.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 180.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,685,000 after purchasing an additional 220,673 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 166,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.