Cullen Investment Group LTD. Buys 73 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Pool were worth $4,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Pool by 101.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Pool by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its stake in Pool by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pool Stock Up 2.5 %

POOL opened at $334.43 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $357.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.06. The company has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.03.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is 41.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $369.25.

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.