Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.30.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PDCO shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Patterson Companies from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Patterson Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Patterson Companies from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective 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.

Patterson Companies Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PDCO opened at $20.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Patterson Companies has a 12-month low of $19.89 and a 12-month high of $32.58.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.08). Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Patterson Companies will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. Patterson Companies’s payout ratio is presently 52.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake 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 valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 7.0% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 6.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in Patterson Companies by 201.2% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Patterson Companies by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. 85.43% of the stock is owned by 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.