Avanza Fonder AB Purchases New Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,273 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,457,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Pool by 8.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 296,063 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $90,992,000 after buying an additional 23,396 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Pool by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,217 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pool by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Pool by 28.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 105,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,487,000 after purchasing an additional 23,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Pool in the second quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Up 0.2 %

POOL stock opened at $350.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $355.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.86. The company has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.03. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 41.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.25.

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.