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

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,530,000 shares, an increase of 25.9% from the January 15th total of 2,010,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Patterson Companies Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of PDCO stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.03. 748,496 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,382,452. Patterson Companies has a fifty-two week low of $19.45 and a fifty-two week high of $31.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.90.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). Patterson Companies had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.37%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Patterson Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Patterson Companies will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PDCO shares. Leerink Partnrs cut Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Patterson Companies from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.35 target price (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $31.35 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total value of $45,282.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,736 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,746.88. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson Companies in the 4th quarter worth $311,000. AQR Arbitrage LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson Companies in the 4th quarter worth $12,288,000. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 1,846.0% in the 4th quarter. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. now owns 334,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,329,000 after buying an additional 317,520 shares during the period. TIG Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson Companies in the 4th quarter worth $14,633,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,212,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,415,000 after buying an additional 64,910 shares during the period. 85.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Patterson Companies

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.