VCA Inc. (WOOF) Sees Glenview Capital Cutting Stake to 9.83%

It’s commonly known that the veterinary and animal health businesses usually follow the broader economy. Generally, people tend to spend more income on their pets when the economy is strong. In this way, VCA has seen strong growth lately, as the U.S. economy is currently in a much better state. Consumer spending in the United States grew at a rate of 2.9% in the second quarter of this year, which definitely played an important role in the strong performance delivered by VCA, which has seen increased demand for pet healthcare over the last months. Reportedly, pet population is constantly growing as more and more households tend to have pets, which also indicates a positive sign for the company. VCA has been successful in benefiting from higher levels of technology usage by launching mobile apps, which give clients the ability to register online for appointments, get communications and feedback. Furthermore, VCA also has a messenger app that can be used by clients to communicate with the company’s doctors and employees.

Let’s now turn our attention to VCA’s financial results for the second quarter of 2015 announced on July 29. VCA posted record revenue of $548.8 million, up by 12.1% on the year. At the same time, the company delivered diluted earnings per common share (EPS) of $0.65 for the quarter, compared to $0.51 a year ago. VCA has also positively revised its guidance for fiscal 2015. The company expects a higher revenue figure of $2.13 billion for the full year, which was upward revised from $2.12 billion. Moreover, VCA increased its guidance on diluted earnings per common share to $2.18 from $2.08.

It is no surprise that Glenview Capital decided to cash out a part of its stake in VCA, as the stock was trading at an all-time high when the transactions were made. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies is another reputable hedge fund within our database that remains bullish on VCA Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF), holding an ownership stake of 1.39 million shares as of the end of March.

Disclosure: None