Patterson Companies (PDCO) Competitors

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) and Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) are both mid-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, community ranking and risk.

Does the media prefer HSIC or PDCO?

In the previous week, Henry Schein had 11 more articles in the media than Patterson Companies. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Henry Schein and 15 mentions for Patterson Companies. Patterson Companies' average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Henry Schein's score of 0.90 indicating that Patterson Companies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Henry Schein	13 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Patterson Companies	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate HSIC or PDCO?

Henry Schein currently has a consensus target price of $81.10, indicating a potential upside of 25.58%. Patterson Companies has a consensus target price of $26.57, indicating a potential downside of 15.15%. Given Henry Schein's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Henry Schein is more favorable than Patterson Companies.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Henry Schein	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64
Patterson Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.09

Is HSIC or PDCO more profitable?

Henry Schein has a net margin of 2.51% compared to Patterson Companies' net margin of 2.37%. Patterson Companies' return on equity of 19.77% beat Henry Schein's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Henry Schein	2.51%	12.90%	5.21%
Patterson Companies	2.37%	19.77%	6.66%

Which has more risk & volatility, HSIC or PDCO?

Henry Schein has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Patterson Companies has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation and earnings, HSIC or PDCO?

Henry Schein has higher revenue and earnings than Patterson Companies. Patterson Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Henry Schein, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Henry Schein	$12.67B	0.63	$416M	$3.04	21.24
Patterson Companies	$6.51B	0.43	$185.93M	$1.54	20.33

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in HSIC or PDCO?

Henry Schein received 18 more outperform votes than Patterson Companies when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 51.70% of users gave Henry Schein an outperform vote while only 50.14% of users gave Patterson Companies an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Henry Schein	Outperform Votes 380 51.70%	Underperform Votes 355 48.30%
Patterson Companies	Outperform Votes 362 50.14%	Underperform Votes 360 49.86%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of HSIC or PDCO?

96.6% of Henry Schein shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.4% of Patterson Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Henry Schein shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Patterson Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Henry Schein beats Patterson Companies on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.