Empower Advisory Group LLC Raises Position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 2.4%, owning 193,989 shares valued at approximately $61.8 million as of the last filing with the SEC.
• Several analysts raised their target prices for Pool, with Oppenheimer setting a new target of $346.00 and maintaining an "outperform" rating, while the consensus target price among analysts is $342.14.
• Pool Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing a 1.6% dividend yield, and has a stock repurchase plan authorizing up to $600 million in share buybacks.

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,989 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,592 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.52% of Pool worth $61,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pool by 471.4% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Pool in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the first quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Pool by 790.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POOL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $342.14.

Pool Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ POOL traded down $0.92 on Thursday, hitting $308.64. 247,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 573,968. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $302.44 and a 200-day moving average of $316.23. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.22 and a 12 month high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.05. Pool had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 7.79%. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Pool's dividend payout ratio is 46.13%.

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.