Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Acquired by nVerses Capital LLC

nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 372.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the quarter. nVerses Capital LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PPC. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus increased their price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.40.

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim’s Pride

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

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PPC traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.58. 1,105,871 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,067,760. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.78. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52-week low of $22.33 and a 52-week high of $47.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.91.

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 company had revenue of $4.56 billion for 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 was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

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.