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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Friday.

POOL has been the subject of several other research reports. Loop Capital upped 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 upped their target price on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.25.

Pool Price Performance

Pool stock opened at $337.27 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $362.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $352.74. The company 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 has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced 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. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pool will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. 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 currently 41.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Pool by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,171 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,511,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Pool by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,415,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in Pool by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its position in Pool by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Pool by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,622 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,268,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.