Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Purchases 14,502 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 50.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,026 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,502 shares during the quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $1,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 295.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ PPC opened at $49.47 on Tuesday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is a positive change from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd.

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.