Ascent Group LLC Raises Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 4.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,285 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised its position in Pool by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 77 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Pool by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Pool by 11,800.0% during the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Pool by 221.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 164 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens lowered their price target on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $347.22.

Pool Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ POOL traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $371.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 96,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,226. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.00. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.38.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.56%.

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.