Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.83 and last traded at $28.8320, with a volume of 22882 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PPC. 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.25.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.36.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,977,597.44. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 82.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,522.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other 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.