Norden Group LLC Trims Stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Norden Group LLC reduced its stake in Pool Corporation by 29.9%, now holding 2,187 shares worth approximately $696,000.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in Pool Corporation, with 98.99% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Pool announced a $600 million stock buyback plan, indicating the company's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Norden Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 29.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,187 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 934 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC's holdings in Pool were worth $696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Pool in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $144,901,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 33,549.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 259,774 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $82,699,000 after purchasing an additional 259,002 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Pool by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $355,435,000 after purchasing an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 598,689 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $204,117,000 after buying an additional 194,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,203,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ POOL traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $308.67. The company had a trading volume of 493,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 526,935. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Pool Corporation has a one year low of $282.22 and a one year high of $395.60. The company has a market cap of $11.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $301.50 and its 200-day moving average is $317.69.

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

Pool declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Pool's payout ratio is presently 46.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $342.14.

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.