Atom Investors LP Acquires New Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Atom Investors LP bought a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 9,531 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,591,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,102,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $646,291,000 after acquiring an additional 33,955 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Pool by 1.3% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 854,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $262,678,000 after buying an additional 11,059 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Pool by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 565,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $213,020,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Pool by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,125,000 after buying an additional 90,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Pool by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 430,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $132,244,000 after acquiring an additional 37,598 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $377.09 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $367.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The company’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. 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. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $369.11.

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.