Cullen Investment Group LTD. Raises Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,546 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Pool were worth $5,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Thrive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth about $343,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Pool by 6.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 7,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,936,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Cim LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 4.8% during the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the second quarter valued at about $3,762,000. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel raised its position in Pool by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 5,018 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL stock traded down $7.54 on Friday, reaching $363.91. The stock had a trading volume of 341,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,936. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 2.48. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The stock has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $357.46.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.90 by $0.09. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 10.99 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pool from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $350.00.

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.