Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $391.80.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL stock opened at $373.00 on Friday. Pool has a twelve month low of $307.77 and a twelve month high of $422.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $388.83 and its 200-day moving average is $375.29.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Pool had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 35.49%. Pool’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pool will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of POOL. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new position in Pool during the first quarter worth $202,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Pool by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 843,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $340,413,000 after acquiring an additional 47,640 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in Pool by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 150,781 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,840,000 after purchasing an additional 14,707 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pool by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,791 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $19,687,000 after purchasing an additional 9,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Pool by 6.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 40,294 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pool Company Profile

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.