Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Acquired by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 127.1% during Q1, now owning a total of 8,494 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Hold" for Pool Corporation with an average target price of $342.14, reflecting mixed market expectations.
• Pool Corporation announced a $600 million share buyback plan and a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, indicating confidence in its financial stability.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 127.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,494 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,753 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Pool were worth $2,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pool by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,456,246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,418,646,000 after purchasing an additional 12,795 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 763,817 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,416,000 after buying an additional 44,884 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in shares of Pool by 48.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Pool in the 1st quarter valued at $168,735,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Pool in the 1st quarter worth $144,901,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $342.14.

Pool Trading Down 0.8%

POOL opened at $309.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $302.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.52. Pool Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.22 and a 1-year 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.

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

Pool announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Pool's payout ratio is 46.13%.

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.

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