UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Grows Position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 6.4%, owning about 0.08% of the company worth approximately $9.6 million.
• Pool Corporation reported $5.17 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 0.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company's board authorized a $600 million share repurchase program, indicating confidence in the company's stock valuation.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,108 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp owned about 0.08% of Pool worth $9,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 471.4% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Pool in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Pool by 790.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $308.14 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Pool Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.22 and a 52 week high of $395.60. The stock has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Pool declared that its board has authorized a share 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 buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.

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