Navellier & Associates Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Navellier & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 64.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,310 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,306 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 325.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 42,136 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at about $808,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 113,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,154,000 after buying an additional 9,035 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $949,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 201,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,292,000 after buying an additional 40,908 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 2.5 %

Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $53.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52 week low of $28.49 and a 52 week high of $57.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.