CheshireK's brofur Becket covers the business section.
The American Pet Products Association expects that U.S. pet guardians will spend almost $51 billion on us in 2011, well up from the $48.35 billion they spent in 2011. According to APPA estimates, 73 million households in the U.S. are home to about 377 million pets. That means that every one of us will contribute about $7 to GDP this year! (The estimate of 377 million includes all kinds of companion animals, even fish.)
The biggest chunk of cash is spent on our food ($18.76 billion), vet care comes in second ($13.01 billion) and then medical and other supplies for us ($11.4 billion), according to the APPA report. Humans also spent $3.51 billion dollars sending us to the “spa” (grooming and boarding). Another $2.13 billion went to purchase live animals.
We are also providing profitable opportunities for humans to invest in stocks. Pet-related and veterinary companies have continued to do well since the financial crisis, but this summer, the entire U.S. market in stocks is taking a beating. Nevertheless, you might suggest that your humans check out some of the following stocks if they are brave enough to buy stock while it is “on sale.”
PetSmart stock trades on the NASDAQ exchange with the symbol PETM. Although the stock price was down at the end of trading last week, MarketWatch reported that Standard & Poor’s retail analyst placed the stock in the “buy” category. S&P believes that the stock price could go up as high as $47 or $50 per share, from the current price of $38.59. The optimistic assessment of Petsmart is based largely on announcements that the company’s profit in the second quarter was more than $61 million, up substantially from this time last year. PetSmart’s revenue in the second quarter was up by 7 percent, which was more than expected, according to MarketWatch.
PetMedExpress Inc. is another stock to watch. (PETS on the NASDAQ exchange.) The experts aren’t as excited about the prospects for this company that sells medical supplies for animals online and by phone order, but it’s price is more affordable at $9.88 at the close of trading last week. The earnings for the company are down this year from last, as are revenues, according to a report published 18 July. I haven’t seen second quarter earning and revenue reports yet.
My human and I are also watching WOOF on the NASDAQ ticker. We like the clever symbol VCA Antech Inc. adopted for its stock, which was trading at $16.86 per share at the end of last week. VCA Antech specializes in animal hospitals and veterinary diagnostic services in the United States and Canada. This stock is analyzed along with trends in both the pet industry and the health-care industry, and the most recent news comes from the latter. This summer, the rate of sale of shares by those who are inside healthcare companies is pretty high, and VCA Antech is one of the companies where the trend of high sales by insiders is noticeable, according to MarketWatch. I’m not sure what that means, but it bears watching.
For the sake of full disclosure, I don’t own stock in any of these companies, although I’m considering a purchase. My human got me a little online stock trading account this summer. Before we actually spent any money on shares of stock, we opened a watch account on MarketWatch, where we created a portfolio of stocks to follow. So far, she has made me buy stock in an auto company, a yoga and meditation supplies company (we sold that position already) and the food company that sells Celestial Seasonings teas, among other products I have no interest in. I am lobbying for a share or two of a pet-industry stock for our next purchase.
Photo by Robin Bisha
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Wow – you has your own stock! Now I’m really impressed. I gotta get M to get with the “program.”