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

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.83 and last traded at $28.8320, with a volume of 22882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Stephens set a $40.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays raised shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.25.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.20 and its 200 day moving average is $38.55.

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

Insider Activity at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $303,029.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 91,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 82.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.