Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 149,146 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its stake in Pool Corporation by 24.9%, selling 149,146 shares during the first quarter, which leaves them with a total of 448,758 shares valued at approximately $142.86 million.
• Pool Corporation recently announced a $600 million stock buyback plan, indicating that its leadership believes the stock is undervalued, and its board also approved a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share.
• Recent analyst upgrades have set various price targets for Pool, with a consensus target price of $342.14, while its stock currently trades around $312.85.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 24.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 448,758 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 149,146 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 1.19% of Pool worth $142,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 471.4% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Pool in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pool in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Pool by 790.9% in 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 period. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL stock opened at $312.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.89. Pool Corporation has a one year low of $282.22 and a one year high of $395.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 2.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.05. Pool had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on POOL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens lowered their price objective 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $342.14.

About Pool

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.

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