BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $47.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential downside of 2.84% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on PPC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Santander assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $49.40. 428,653 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,154,140. Pilgrim’s Pride has a 12-month low of $33.25 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.69 and a 200 day moving average of $48.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pilgrim’s Pride

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 19,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 13,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 19,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

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.