Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Now Covered by Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $344.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ POOL opened at $318.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pool has a twelve month low of $293.51 and a twelve month high of $402.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $339.95 and a 200 day moving average of $353.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pool

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 2,300.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.