Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Position Cut by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 927,996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 884,103 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.39% of Pilgrim’s Pride worth $42,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,583,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter valued at about $904,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter worth approximately $787,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted 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 valued at $38,116,000 after purchasing an additional 827,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $51.70 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 12-month low of $25.23 and a 12-month high of $55.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.81.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PPC. Argus upped 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. Barclays upped their target price 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. Stephens initiated coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.