Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.57.

PDCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $31.35 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.35 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Patterson Companies Stock Performance

NASDAQ PDCO opened at $31.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. Patterson Companies has a 52-week low of $19.45 and a 52-week high of $31.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.77.

Institutional Trading of Patterson Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Patterson Companies in the fourth quarter worth $18,316,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Patterson Companies by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,711,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,662,000 after buying an additional 527,054 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Patterson Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,183,000. TIG Advisors LLC bought a new position in Patterson Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $14,633,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 2,837.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 423,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,084,000 after acquiring an additional 409,543 shares in the last quarter. 85.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.