Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Buys New Shares in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,044 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Pool by 2,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pool by 471.4% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Pool during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Pool by 790.9% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $342.00.

Pool Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of POOL traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $301.55. The stock had a trading volume of 522,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,462. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Pool Corporation has a 52-week low of $282.22 and a 52-week high of $395.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $300.65 and its 200 day moving average is $321.45. The firm has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.10.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.