Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,289.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,225,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,621,000 after buying an additional 4,849,147 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 903.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,455,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 881,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,620,000 after acquiring an additional 11,128 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 145,879.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,116,000 after acquiring an additional 827,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,320,000 after purchasing an additional 501,776 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC stock opened at $47.53 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $26.07 and a twelve month high of $55.50. The company has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.11.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 29.92%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PPC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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, Barclays increased their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.