Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) in a research report report published on Monday. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on PDCO. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.35 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $31.35 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.57.

Patterson Companies Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PDCO opened at $31.14 on Monday. Patterson Companies has a 1 year low of $19.45 and a 1 year high of $31.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.97 and a 200-day moving average of $25.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.99.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Patterson Companies will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total value of $45,282.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,746.88. The trade was a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Patterson Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Patterson Companies by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Patterson Companies by 103.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Patterson Companies by 501.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Patterson Companies by 779.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

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.