E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 907 Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 5,687 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,025,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pool by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 321 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Pool by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Pool by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 882 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Pool by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 889 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of POOL traded up $7.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $373.00. The company had a trading volume of 210,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,199. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $375.31. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $307.77 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Pool had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 35.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on POOL shares. TheStreet cut shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.80.

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.