Values First Advisors Inc. Sells 1,183 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Values First Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pool by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,102,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $646,291,000 after buying an additional 33,955 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Pool by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 854,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $262,678,000 after purchasing an additional 11,059 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Pool by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 525,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,839,000 after purchasing an additional 45,953 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Pool by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,125,000 after purchasing an additional 90,951 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Pool by 9.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 430,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $132,244,000 after acquiring an additional 37,598 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL opened at $377.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $293.51 and a twelve month high of $422.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $359.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $353.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.90 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. Pool’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 10.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 40.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.89.

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.