Pilgrim's Pride Shares Popped: What You Need to Know (PPC)

Pilgrim's Pride Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of chicken-coop champion Pilgrim's Pride (NYSE: PPC ) took flight today, gaining as much as 11.4% on fairly heavy volume. Who says domestic poultry can't fly?

So what: A USDA poultry and egg market update filed last night showed broiler-chicken prices ticking up after about two months of trending down. To make the good news even better, corn prices are falling due to a bountiful harvest. Good thing they don't raise them chickens on drought-damaged peanuts, right?

Now what: Food production is a tough, low-margin business, but Pilgrim's and Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN ) know how to take risk out of their business models. Through sensible hedging of corn and other vital supplies, they show positive EBITDA profits while Sanderson Farms (Nasdaq: SAFM ) operates at negative gross margins -- and commands a price-to-sales ratio about four times the size of Pilgrim's Pride. Either Sanderson is overvalued or Pilgrim's is selling for peanuts (pun intended) -- and quite possibly both are true.

Interested in more information about Pilgrim's Pride? Add it to My Watchlist.

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