Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Pool from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $367.89.

Pool Price Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $366.00 on Friday. Pool has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $359.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.39. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. Pool’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Pool will post 10.98 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Pool in the first quarter valued at approximately $96,528,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pool by 37,863.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 137,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,926,000 after purchasing an additional 137,445 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Pool by 67.4% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 306,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,651,000 after purchasing an additional 123,387 shares during the last quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the second quarter worth $37,390,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Pool by 26.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $133,125,000 after buying an additional 90,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.