Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Holdings Boosted by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,079 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPC. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $50.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.82 and a 200-day moving average of $42.69. The firm has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $25.23 and a twelve month high of $55.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 29.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus lifted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride 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.