Stephens Has Lowered Expectations for Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Stock Price

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) had its target price cut by research analysts at Stephens from $400.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.09% from the company’s previous close.

POOL has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Pool from $340.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.22.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL stock opened at $293.90 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. Pool has a one year low of $284.28 and a one year high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The business’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Pool will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 21.1% in the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 7,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Pool in the first quarter valued at about $3,516,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pool by 1.1% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 92.0% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 288 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Pool by 5.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 444,337 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $141,455,000 after acquiring an additional 24,418 shares in 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.