Royce & Associates LP Raises Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,644 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Pool were worth $22,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Pool by 8.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,601 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,385,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 77.6% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.3% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 50,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $19,152,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 5.5% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 179,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $67,752,000 after buying an additional 9,359 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Up 0.5 %

POOL stock opened at $359.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $293.51 and a twelve month high of $422.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $364.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $352.44.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on POOL shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.11.

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.