Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 550,435 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 70% from the previous session’s volume of 324,146 shares.The stock last traded at $378.29 and had previously closed at $377.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet downgraded Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Loop Capital downgraded Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $397.80.

Pool Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $393.49 and a 200 day moving average of $373.57. The firm has a market cap of $14.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.02. Pool had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Pool’s payout ratio is 33.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total value of $441,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Pool by 7.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 342,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $138,084,000 after acquiring an additional 23,274 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Pool by 9.9% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 25,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,177,000 after buying an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Pool by 2.0% during the first quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 30,695 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,385,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in Pool by 19.6% during the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 10,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,438,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Day Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the first quarter valued at about $1,775,000. 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.