Czech National Bank Increases Stock Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 11,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 311 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 13,135 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,145,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Price Performance

POOL stock opened at $337.92 on Friday. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $308.45 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $360.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $379.45. The firm has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.02.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Pool had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 35.49%. Pool’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Pool’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on Pool from $415.00 to $370.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $382.80.

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.