Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $338.71.

Pool Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $321.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $301.26 and its 200 day moving average is $317.74. The company has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Pool has a 1 year low of $282.22 and a 1 year high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.05. Pool had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 7.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.99 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pool

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 471.4% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Pool by 790.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pool during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.