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

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,010,000 shares, a drop of 20.2% from the December 15th total of 2,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Patterson Companies

In related news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total value of $45,282.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,746.88. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Patterson Companies by 103.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Patterson Companies by 2,084.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PDCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Patterson Companies in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Patterson Companies in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson Companies from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.57.

Patterson Companies Price Performance

NASDAQ:PDCO traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.90. The stock had a trading volume of 730,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,817. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.89. Patterson Companies has a one year low of $19.45 and a one year high of $31.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Patterson Companies will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.