GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $1.13 Million in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,996 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Pool in the 1st quarter valued at $96,528,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 37,863.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 137,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,926,000 after buying an additional 137,445 shares in the last quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,390,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 90,951 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Pool by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 195,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $78,981,000 after acquiring an additional 72,322 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on POOL. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $369.11.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL stock opened at $357.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.48. Pool Co. has a 12-month low of $293.51 and a 12-month high of $422.73. The firm has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.31%.

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.