Yousif Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in POOL. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Pool by 907.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,768,000 after acquiring an additional 33,686 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Pool by 816.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 40,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,601,000 after acquiring an additional 36,403 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in Pool by 40.4% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 104.0% in the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens cut their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.22.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $290.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $303.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $284.28 and a 1-year high of $395.60. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.