Royce & Associates LP Raises Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,644 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.16% of Pool worth $22,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pool by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,102,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $646,291,000 after purchasing an additional 33,955 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Pool by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 854,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $262,678,000 after purchasing an additional 11,059 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Pool by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $133,125,000 after purchasing an additional 90,951 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 430,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $132,244,000 after purchasing an additional 37,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 343,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,531,000 after purchasing an additional 12,152 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL opened at $359.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $364.43 and its 200 day moving average is $352.44. Pool Co. has a 12-month low of $293.51 and a 12-month high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. The company 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 firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $369.11.

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.