BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $42.00 to $43.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target suggests a potential downside of 14.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Argus raised 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 note on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens assumed coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 3.6 %

PPC stock opened at $50.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.66. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 1-year low of $25.23 and a 1-year high of $51.21.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 31.38%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after buying an additional 3,811 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 14,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 4,329 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 35,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 1st quarter worth $303,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company 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.