Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Has $37.27 Million Stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,083 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.31% of Pool worth $37,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Pool by 471.4% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Pool during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pool during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Pool by 790.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POOL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $344.50.

Pool Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ POOL traded down $5.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $301.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 593,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,843. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.22 and a twelve month high of $395.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $301.52 and a 200 day moving average of $319.74.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Pool's revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

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

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.