JGP Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the quarter. Pool accounts for 1.5% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. JGP Wealth Management LLC owned 0.09% of Pool worth $11,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Pool in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 101.2% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on POOL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $369.25.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL stock opened at $349.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.20. Pool Co. has a 12-month low of $293.51 and a 12-month 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Pool’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.31%.

Pool 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.