Short Interest in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Grows By 22.7%

Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,410,000 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the August 15th total of 2,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 788,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 8.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.80.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of PPC traded up $0.68 on Monday, reaching $41.05. 2,111,681 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,227. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.05. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12 month low of $22.33 and a 12 month high of $47.44.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 25.06%. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim’s Pride will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,892,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth approximately $1,583,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the first quarter valued at approximately $904,000. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,004,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 173.9% in the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 45,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 28,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $781,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.