Cynosure Group LLC Buys Shares of 786 Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Cynosure Group LLC bought a new stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 786 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Pool by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 77 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Pool by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Pool by 11,800.0% in the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on POOL. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $416.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $290.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $321.75.

Pool Price Performance

Pool stock traded up $4.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $335.87. 83,552 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 363,282. The company’s fifty day moving average is $338.22 and its 200-day moving average is $369.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.00. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Pool’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 10.95 EPS for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is 37.56%.

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.