Atom Investors LP Acquires New Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Atom Investors LP bought a new stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 9,531 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,591,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the third quarter worth $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pool by 232.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Pool by 26.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Pool in the second quarter worth approximately $74,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ POOL opened at $377.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $367.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. Pool’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on POOL. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. One investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $369.11.

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.