Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $369.25.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $326.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $358.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $352.30. Pool 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. Pool’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Pool will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is 41.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Pool during the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pool by 101.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Pool by 24.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.