Bridges Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,984 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Pool worth $22,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Pool by 2,300.0% during the fourth 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. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pool by 471.4% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Pool during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pool during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $344.50.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL traded down $4.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $306.32. 435,877 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 427,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $301.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $320.17. Pool Corporation has a 1 year low of $282.22 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The stock has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.10.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.