HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases New Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 821 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Pool by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 865,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $308,156,000 after buying an additional 313,190 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 463.2% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 240,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $85,686,000 after acquiring an additional 197,900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Pool by 30,047.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,322,000 after purchasing an additional 183,288 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Pool by 585.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 183,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,988,000 after purchasing an additional 156,361 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter worth $44,697,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on POOL. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $415.00 to $370.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $382.80.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $333.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $361.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $379.38. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $308.45 and a twelve month high of $422.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.56%.

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.