Townsquare Capital LLC Sells 3,460 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Pool Corporation by 12.1%, selling 3,460 shares and now holding 25,143 shares valued at approximately $8 million.
• Pool Corporation recently reported a quarterly EPS of $5.17, which exceeded analysts' expectations, though its revenue slightly missed forecasts at $1.78 billion.
• The company has authorized a $600 million stock buyback program, indicating management believes its shares are undervalued, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share.

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,143 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,460 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of Pool worth $8,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Pool by 907.2% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $12,768,000 after purchasing an additional 33,686 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of Pool by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,076 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,571,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,954 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter worth approximately $921,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 117,083 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $37,273,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens dropped their price target on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $342.14.

Pool Stock Up 2.0%

POOL stock traded up $6.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $312.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 319,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,355. The company has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.07. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.22 and a 12 month high of $395.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $302.70 and its 200-day moving average is $314.90.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 46.13%.

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

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.