Prudential PLC Has $3.55 Million Stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Pool Corporation by 9.8% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 11,154 shares worth approximately $3.55 million.
• Pool Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.17, exceeding expectations by $0.05, with a revenue of $1.78 billion.
• The company announced a stock buyback program authorizing up to $600 million to repurchase 5.4% of its outstanding shares, indicating a belief that its stock is currently undervalued.

Prudential PLC decreased its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,154 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,209 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Pool were worth $3,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Pool by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Pool by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 81,150 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,665,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Pool by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 5,409 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,844,000 after buying an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Pool by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 3,741 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on POOL. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price 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. Stephens dropped their target price on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $342.14.

Pool Trading Down 1.3%

POOL stock traded down $4.34 on Friday, hitting $321.75. 870,406 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 518,218. The business's fifty day moving average is $304.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.07. 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 twelve month low of $282.22 and a twelve month high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 7.79%. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.99 EPS. The business's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

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

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

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.