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

Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $336.22.

POOL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pool

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Pool by 907.2% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,768,000 after buying an additional 33,686 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 816.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 40,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,601,000 after buying an additional 36,403 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Pool by 104.0% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 1,926 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of POOL opened at $288.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.12. 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 has a one year low of $284.28 and a one year high of $395.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.69.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.