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

Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $328.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on POOL shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Pool from $416.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Pool from $380.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Stephens cut their price target on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Pool by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 49,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,720,000 after acquiring an additional 4,877 shares during the last quarter. James Hambro & Partners increased its stake in shares of Pool by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 189,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $75,573,000 after acquiring an additional 33,402 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 30,047.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,322,000 after acquiring an additional 183,288 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Pool by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,794,000 after acquiring an additional 3,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 153,314 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $61,128,000 after purchasing an additional 27,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $301.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.00. Pool has a one year low of $298.07 and a one year high of $422.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $351.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $376.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Pool will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

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.