Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $917,000 Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Pool by 96.7% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Pool during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Pool by 48.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $370.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $393.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $373.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $307.77 and a 1 year high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Pool had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 33.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool 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 sale, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.80.

Pool 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.