Short Interest in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Drops By 22.1%

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,970,000 shares, a drop of 22.1% from the January 31st total of 2,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Patterson Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PDCO traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $31.13. 1,054,356 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,008,628. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $30.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.99. Patterson Companies has a 12 month low of $19.45 and a 12 month high of $31.79.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Patterson Companies will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PDCO shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Mizuho initiated coverage on Patterson Companies in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $31.35 target price (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson Companies

In other Patterson Companies 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 transaction of $45,282.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,140,746.88. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Patterson Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDCO. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Patterson Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,291,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Patterson Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,172,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Patterson Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Patterson Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,799,000. Finally, BCK Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Patterson Companies during the fourth quarter worth $710,000. Institutional investors 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.