Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases Shares of 9,365 Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2,666.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 44,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 43,243 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 142.2% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 108,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 63,982 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $5,131,000. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 136.0% during the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 128,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,944,000 after purchasing an additional 74,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 237,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,555,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 40,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.32, for a total transaction of $1,332,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,565,405.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 82.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC opened at $37.11 on Thursday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $19.96 and a twelve month high of $37.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.17. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 17.35% and a net margin of 2.80%. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PPC shares. StockNews.com raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.25.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company Profile

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.