Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $369.25.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on POOL. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Pool in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Pool by 68.9% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pool by 232.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Pool in the third quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Pool by 26.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Up 2.4 %

POOL opened at $349.04 on Friday. Pool has a twelve month low of $293.51 and a twelve month high of $422.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $366.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.77. The stock has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pool will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.31%.

About Pool

Pool Corporation distributes swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related leisure products in the United States and internationally. The company offers maintenance products, including chemicals, supplies, and pool accessories; repair and replacement parts for pool equipment, such as cleaners, filters, heaters, pumps, and lights; and building materials, such as concrete, plumbing and electrical components, functional and decorative pool surfaces, decking materials, tiles, hardscapes, and natural stones for pool installations and remodeling.