Analysts Set Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Price Target at $368.00

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $368.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Pool Stock Down 3.0 %

POOL stock opened at $333.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $343.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Pool has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $420.98.

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

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Pool by 10.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,029 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,166,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Pool by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pool during the 3rd quarter worth about $248,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its stake in Pool by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 6,086 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.