Tidal Investments LLC Grows Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pool by 2,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Pool by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78% 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, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given 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 a consensus price target of $336.22.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $303.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $284.28 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $309.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $336.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.90%.

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.