AdvisorShares Investments LLC Takes Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its position in Pool by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pool by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Pool by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,993,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a report on Friday. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Pool Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of POOL opened at $293.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $343.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $284.28 and a 52 week high of $395.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is 45.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.