Assetmark Inc. Increases Stock Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,237,974 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,650 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $46,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $29.11 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $50.56. 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 company has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.45 and its 200 day moving average is $35.03.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PPC shares. Barclays upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.83.

Pilgrim’s Pride 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.