Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Trims Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 0.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,859 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Pool were worth $16,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 195,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $78,981,000 after acquiring an additional 72,322 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the first quarter worth about $243,000. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA bought a new stake in Pool in the first quarter worth about $385,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Pool by 3.3% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,710 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis bought a new stake in Pool in the first quarter worth about $884,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL stock traded down $2.56 on Monday, reaching $369.26. 246,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,628. The company has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $336.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 2.48. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. Pool’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on POOL. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $347.22.

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.