Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Short Interest Up 40.9% in March

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, a growth of 40.9% from the March 15th total of 1,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Patterson Companies during the fourth quarter worth $18,316,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,711,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,662,000 after acquiring an additional 527,054 shares in the last quarter. TIG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the 4th quarter worth $14,633,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Patterson Companies by 2,837.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 423,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,084,000 after purchasing an additional 409,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Patterson Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,344,000. 85.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Patterson Companies Price Performance

NASDAQ:PDCO opened at $31.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.14 and a 200 day moving average of $27.66. Patterson Companies has a 1-year low of $19.45 and a 1-year high of $31.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Patterson Companies in a research note on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.57.

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.