King Luther Capital Management Corp Acquires 876 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 3.3%, now owning approximately $8.83 million worth of the company's shares.
• Pool Corporation reported earnings of $5.17 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and announced a $1.25 quarterly dividend to be paid on August 28th.
• The company has authorized a $600 million share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation amid relatively high institutional ownership at 98.99%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,745 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Pool worth $8,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in POOL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position 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 during the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Pool during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pool during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 790.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:POOL traded up $6.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $312.85. The stock had a trading volume of 319,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,791. Pool Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $282.22 and a fifty-two week high of $395.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $302.85 and its 200 day moving average is $314.89. The stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.13%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two 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 $342.14.

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.