Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Bought by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1,250.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 57,802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 53,523 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $21,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter valued at approximately $152,249,000. Atom Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth approximately $3,591,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Pool by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 565,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pool by 392.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Pool by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,131 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POOL has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $369.11.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $377.09 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $367.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $352.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $14.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. Pool’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. Equities analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given 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 payout ratio is 41.31%.

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.