Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) shares are up by over 8% in the early session today after the poultry producer delivered better-than-anticipated numbers for the fourth quarter. Revenue increased by 9% year-over-year to $4.5 billion, surpassing estimates by $20 million. In tandem, EPS of $0.59 exceeded estimates by $0.16.
Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, PPC clocked net sales growth across its U.S., Europe, and Mexico segments. Additionally, it generated an operating income of $128.35 million in the U.S. compared to an operating loss of $52.8 million in the year-ago period. Similarly, its operating loss in Mexico narrowed to $1.6 million from $23.4 million in the prior year period.
The gains in its U.S. portfolio were primarily driven by promotional activity and new distribution with key customers. Similarly, branded products and back-office optimization drove gains in its U.K. and Europe segments. Notably, the company’s adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 6.8% from 1.5% in the year-ago period.
Is PPC Stock a Good Buy?
Today’s price gains come on top of a nearly 15.4% jump in Pilgrim’s Pride’s stock price over the past six months. While analyst coverage on the stock remains sparse at present, a price-to-earnings multiple of 217.4 indicates PPC shares are not exactly cheap at current levels.
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