1,608 Shares in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,608 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pool by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,993,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pool by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $311.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.59. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $284.28 and a twelve month high of $395.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.