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 note released on Sunday.

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

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock opened at $359.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $355.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $354.58. The company has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.03. Pool has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. Pool’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Pool will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 41.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of POOL. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth about $60,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 101.2% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 24.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.