Aurora Investment Counsel Grows Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,077 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pool by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 232.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Pool by 26.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Pool in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Pool in the second quarter worth $75,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.11.

Pool Trading Down 0.5 %

Pool stock opened at $360.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $365.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $352.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.31%.

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.