Geneva Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,254 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pool Corporation by 2.7%, owning approximately 87,293 shares worth $27.79 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Pool Corporation reported $5.17 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.12, while its quarterly revenue was $1.78 billion, slightly below estimates.
• The company has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $600 million, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,293 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned about 0.23% of Pool worth $27,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pool by 471.4% during 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 790.9% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ POOL traded down $2.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $309.56. 236,627 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 598,809. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $302.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Pool Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.22 and a 52 week high of $395.60. The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.07.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Stephens lowered their price target on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.