Short Interest in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Expands By 40.9%

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant 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 short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Patterson Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PDCO remained flat at $31.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $31.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.81. Patterson Companies has a 52-week low of $19.45 and a 52-week high of $31.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Institutional Trading of Patterson Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDCO. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Patterson Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,115 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 103.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Patterson Companies by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Patterson Companies in a research report on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.