Empower Advisory Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 179,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,359 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.47% of Pool worth $67,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pool by 68.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Pool by 232.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Pool by 26.2% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the second quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Pool in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on POOL. Loop Capital increased their price target on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.11.

Pool Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $356.48 on Wednesday. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $363.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $352.49. The company has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.31%.

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.