Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 113.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,580 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.06% of Pool worth $7,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pool by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 296,063 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $90,992,000 after purchasing an additional 23,396 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Pool by 7.4% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,217 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 9.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 105,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,487,000 after acquiring an additional 23,233 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL stock opened at $350.26 on Monday. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $355.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $354.24.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.25.

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.