Strong Tower Advisory Services Boosts Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Pool were worth $371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 94.9% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 76 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Pool during the third quarter worth $33,000. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the second quarter worth $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Pool by 96.7% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of POOL opened at $403.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a one year low of $307.77 and a one year high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $393.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.53.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $371.00 to $368.00 in a research note on Friday, December 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet lowered Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $388.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.