Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Makes New Investment in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,157 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Pool by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 49,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $19,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,877 shares during the period. James Hambro & Partners grew its position in Pool by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 189,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $75,573,000 after purchasing an additional 33,402 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Pool by 30,047.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,322,000 after acquiring an additional 183,288 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 394.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,329,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.80.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $370.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $390.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $375.02. Pool Co. has a one year low of $307.77 and a one year high of $422.73. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.43%.

Insider Activity at Pool

In other news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.