Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Sees Large Volume Increase

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 550,435 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 70% from the previous session’s volume of 324,146 shares.The stock last traded at $378.29 and had previously closed at $377.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POOL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet downgraded Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.80.

Pool Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $392.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $373.76.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,845,204 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $657,077,000 after acquiring an additional 63,413 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 865,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $308,156,000 after purchasing an additional 313,190 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Pool by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 777,707 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $276,941,000 after purchasing an additional 12,389 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $225,885,000 after purchasing an additional 114,298 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 606,678 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,038,000 after purchasing an additional 59,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.