Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on POOL. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $369.25.

Pool Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $337.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Pool has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $362.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.03.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pool will post 11.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued 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 1.42%. Pool’s payout ratio is 41.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pool

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its holdings in Pool by 2.2% in the third quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,278 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 3.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 777 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Pool by 0.6% in the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 5,018 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 4.8% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 678 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 2.8% in the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.