Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Acquired by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter worth $1,457,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Pool by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,027 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 113.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,436,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on POOL. 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. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $369.25.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $350.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $355.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $353.50. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.31%.

Pool 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.