Islay Capital Management LLC Has $809,000 Stock Holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Islay Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 43.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,883 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PPC. Ruffer LLP bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter valued at $8,381,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter worth about $8,601,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,513,000 after buying an additional 180,164 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,835,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,989,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $49.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.94. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 12-month low of $33.67 and a 12-month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

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

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.