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

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $35.58 and last traded at $35.7410, with a volume of 87249 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PPC. Zacks Research cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Santander upgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 35.15%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $303,029.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,397 shares in the company, valued at $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 82.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,248.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the period. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.