Castleark Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Castleark Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 770 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Pool by 154.0% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 124,784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,856,000 after buying an additional 75,655 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Pool by 67.4% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 306,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $123,651,000 after buying an additional 123,387 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 30,047.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,322,000 after buying an additional 183,288 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Pool by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,794,000 after buying an additional 3,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Pool during the first quarter valued at about $4,436,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Price Performance

Pool stock traded down $6.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $367.08. The stock had a trading volume of 243,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,078. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $336.40 and its 200 day moving average is $368.24. Pool Co. has a one year low of $293.51 and a one year high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. Pool’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Pool from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens cut their target price on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $347.22.

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.