Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,849,147 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 1,289.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,225,216 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,849,147 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 2.20% of Pilgrim’s Pride worth $240,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PPC shares. Argus upped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Bank of America lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $52.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.20. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52-week low of $25.23 and a 52-week high of $55.50. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

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.