Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, 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 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,289.4% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,225,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,621,000 after purchasing an additional 4,849,147 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,119,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,502,000 after acquiring an additional 576,438 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,766,000 after acquiring an additional 389,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,513,000 after acquiring an additional 180,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC opened at $51.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.14. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 52 week low of $28.49 and a 52 week high of $57.16.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.