Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $31.34 and last traded at $31.23, with a volume of 1942192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PDCO. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho started coverage on Patterson Companies in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Patterson Companies from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson Companies from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.10.

Patterson Companies Stock Up 34.4 %

The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.77.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Patterson Companies had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Patterson Companies, Inc. will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Patterson Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 60.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson Companies

In related news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of Patterson Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total value 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 approximately $5,140,746.88. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 19,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 32.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Patterson Companies by 6.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Patterson Companies by 201.2% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in Patterson Companies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. 85.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson Companies Company Profile

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.