Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Board of Directors Approves Stock Buyback Program

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Stock Up 3.5 %

Pool stock opened at $306.69 on Friday. Pool has a fifty-two week low of $284.28 and a fifty-two week high of $395.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $318.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.31. 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 (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Pool’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Pool will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on POOL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.22.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.