Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Receives $45.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

PPC has been the topic of several research reports. Argus increased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 2.2 %

Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $51.61 on Thursday. Pilgrim’s Pride has a fifty-two week low of $25.33 and a fifty-two week high of $55.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.84. The company has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 19,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.6% in the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.