Brokerages Set Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) PT at $368.00

Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $365.33.

POOL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Pool in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock opened at $325.66 on Monday. Pool has a 12-month low of $293.51 and a 12-month high of $402.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $338.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.95.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. On average, research analysts forecast that Pool will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pool

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 2,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Pool in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently 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.