Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Receives $26.57 Average Price Target from Analysts

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.57.

A number of brokerages have commented on PDCO. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. StockNews.com began coverage on Patterson Companies in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson Companies

In related news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of Patterson Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,746.88. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in Patterson Companies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Patterson Companies by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Patterson Companies by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Patterson Companies by 20.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Patterson Companies by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

Patterson Companies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PDCO opened at $31.03 on Monday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.99. Patterson Companies has a 52 week low of $19.45 and a 52 week high of $31.79. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Patterson Companies will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.