Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $354.44.

Pool Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of POOL stock opened at $362.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.01. Pool has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $356.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $356.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pool will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Pool

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pool by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,102,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $646,291,000 after buying an additional 33,955 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Pool by 1.3% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 854,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $262,678,000 after acquiring an additional 11,059 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Pool by 9.6% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 525,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,839,000 after acquiring an additional 45,953 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Pool by 26.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $133,125,000 after purchasing an additional 90,951 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Pool by 9.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 430,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $132,244,000 after purchasing an additional 37,598 shares in the last quarter. 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.