Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC Stock Position Lowered by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 31.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 299,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136,943 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $13,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 135.2% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 98,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,363,000 after purchasing an additional 56,568 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 46.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.4% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 21,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter valued at $394,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

PPC opened at $38.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.13. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a one year low of $35.73 and a one year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.11. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Zacks Research raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.00.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.