Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.00.

Pool Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $347.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $343.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.48. Pool has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. On average, equities analysts predict that Pool will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Pool by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 18,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,083,000 after acquiring an additional 3,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pool

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.