Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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 increased their price target on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.25.

Pool Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $334.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $358.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.87. Pool has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of POOL. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its holdings in Pool by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 13,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,643,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 8,252 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Pool by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,028 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in Pool by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.