Pilgrim's Pride Q4 sales rise 3.3%, beat estimates

Overview

• Food company Pilgrim's Pride Q4 sales rose 3.3%, beating analysts' expectations

• Adjusted EBITDA beat analyst estimates, despite a 21% drop

• GAAP EPS for Q4 fell 62.6% yr/yr

Outlook

• Pilgrim's Pride focuses on expanding branded offerings and geographic footprint in Mexico

• Company emphasizes sustainability with improved environmental and social scores

• Pilgrim's Pride aims to enhance operational efficiencies in Europe through optimization and product innovation

Result Drivers

• U.S. FRESH PORTFOLIO - Strong demand in Case Ready and Small Bird categories drove growth, outpacing industry averages

• PREPARED FOODS GROWTH - U.S. Prepared Foods sales increased 18% with Just Bare brand leading in frozen fully cooked category

• EUROPE IMPROVEMENTS - Sales and Adjusted EBITDA rose due to manufacturing optimization and brand diversification

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 2 "strong buy" or "buy", 6 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the food processing peer group is "buy."

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Pilgrims Pride Corp is $42.06, about 1.7% below its February 10 closing price of $42.78

• The stock recently traded at 10 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 8 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nGNX5srGYz

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.