Entropy Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 35,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.2% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 25.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 54,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 10,909 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,233,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,310,000 after buying an additional 136,970 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 4.5 %

PPC stock opened at $50.33 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.23 and a fifty-two week high of $55.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PPC. Stephens began coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus boosted their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on 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 boosted 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.