Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $385.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $371.00 to $368.00 in a report on Friday, December 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet cut Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital cut Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th.

Pool Stock Up 3.0 %

POOL opened at $414.62 on Thursday. Pool has a fifty-two week low of $307.77 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $392.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $368.29. The company has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.02. Pool had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Pool will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 33.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pool

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Pool by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,204,052 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $364,021,000 after purchasing an additional 462,507 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Pool by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 865,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $308,156,000 after purchasing an additional 313,190 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 463.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 240,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,686,000 after acquiring an additional 197,900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $73,322,000 after acquiring an additional 183,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Pool during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,689,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.