Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Receives $321.75 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $347.22.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $371.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $336.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.00. Pool has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.90 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Pool will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Pool in the first quarter worth $96,528,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Pool by 30,047.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,322,000 after acquiring an additional 183,288 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Pool by 585.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 183,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,988,000 after acquiring an additional 156,361 shares in the last quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC acquired a new stake in Pool in the second quarter valued at $37,390,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $44,697,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.