Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $30.21 and last traded at $31.1220, with a volume of 239448 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PPC shares. Zacks Research cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens set a $40.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.25.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.55.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.18). Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 82.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 59.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,776,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,852,000 after buying an additional 1,405,251 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,196.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 813,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,731,000 after acquiring an additional 751,042 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,418,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,296,000 after acquiring an additional 742,204 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,501,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 138.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 958,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,022,000 after acquiring an additional 556,766 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.