Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a decrease of 24.6% from the November 30th total of 3,340,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Patterson Companies Price Performance

Shares of PDCO traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.85. 1,206,171 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,022,427. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.00. Patterson Companies has a 52-week low of $19.45 and a 52-week high of $31.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.40.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. Patterson Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Patterson Companies will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Patterson Companies news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total transaction of $45,282.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,746.88. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PDCO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Patterson Companies in the second quarter worth $41,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Patterson Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Patterson Companies by 2,084.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 32.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Finally, Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PDCO. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.57.

Patterson Companies Company Profile

Patterson Companies, Inc engages in the distribution of dental and animal health products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company operates through three segments: Dental, Animal Health, and Corporate segments. The Dental segment offers consumable products, including infection control, restorative materials, and instruments; basic and advanced technology and dental equipment; practice optimization solutions, such as practice management software, e-commerce, revenue cycle management, patient engagement solutions, and clinical and patient education systems.