73,076 Shares in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 73,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,317,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPC. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,289.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,225,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,621,000 after acquiring an additional 4,849,147 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake 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. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 145,879.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,116,000 after acquiring an additional 827,134 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 88.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 433,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,981,000 after acquiring an additional 203,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,601,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PPC. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 4.2 %

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $50.33 on Thursday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $27.57 and a 12 month high of $55.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.36 and its 200-day moving average is $46.70.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.