Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $388.63.

POOL has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet lowered Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Pool in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th.

Pool Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of POOL opened at $380.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $395.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.37. Pool has a twelve month low of $307.77 and a twelve month high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 37.94% and a net margin of 9.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pool will post 13.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is 33.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in Pool by 94.9% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 76 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Pool by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 77 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Pool in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.