Zacks Research Upgrades Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ: WOOF) has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" by Zacks Research, signaling increased confidence from analysts.
• Wells Fargo and UBS have also raised their target prices for Petco's stock, with Wells Fargo setting a new target of $4.00, indicating positive outlook among several research firms.
• Petco reported earnings of $0.05 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, though revenues were down 2.3% year-over-year.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday, September 4th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on WOOF. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Petco Health and Wellness from $3.25 to $3.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petco Health and Wellness from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.95.

Petco Health and Wellness Stock Performance

Shares of WOOF traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,250,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,357,846. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.09. Petco Health and Wellness has a one year low of $2.28 and a one year high of $6.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -36.45 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ:WOOF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Petco Health and Wellness had a negative net margin of 0.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Petco Health and Wellness will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petco Health and Wellness

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookwood Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Petco Health and Wellness in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Petco Health and Wellness in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Petco Health and Wellness during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 747.9% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 9,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Petco Health and Wellness by 152.7% during the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 10,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 6,447 shares during the last quarter.

Petco Health and Wellness Company Profile

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc, operates as a health and wellness company, focuses on enhancing the lives of pets, pet parents, and its Petco partners in the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The company provides veterinary care, grooming, training, tele-health, and Vital Care and pet health insurance services, as well as veterinary services through Vetco mobile clinics.