Castleark Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Castleark Management LLC lowered its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 770 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 30,047.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,322,000 after purchasing an additional 183,288 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 585.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 183,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,988,000 after acquiring an additional 156,361 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $44,697,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 711.3% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 123,419 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $49,208,000 after acquiring an additional 108,207 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 332,462 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $132,556,000 after acquiring an additional 90,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on POOL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Pool from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital decreased their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an “underperform” 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 assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $347.22.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL stock traded down $6.96 on Thursday, hitting $367.08. 243,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 374,078. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.00. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $336.40 and its 200 day moving average is $368.24.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 10.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

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.