ING Groep NV Acquires New Shares in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,861 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,657,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth about $60,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its position in Pool by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock opened at $344.00 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $343.47 and its 200-day moving average is $355.67. The company has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.00.

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.