Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Pool Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from seven research firms, with five analysts recommending a hold and two suggesting a buy, and an average 12-month price target of $342.14.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $5.17, surpassing estimates by $0.05, while its revenue rose by .9% year-over-year.
• Pool has authorized a $600 million share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that its stock is undervalued, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share.

Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $342.14.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens decreased their target price on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pool

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,456,246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,418,646,000 after purchasing an additional 12,795 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 2.3% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,250,422 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $716,422,000 after purchasing an additional 50,566 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 3.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,284,918 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $409,054,000 after purchasing an additional 44,897 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Pool by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,054,066 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $335,562,000 after purchasing an additional 11,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $332,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $308.67 on Friday. Pool has a one year low of $282.22 and a one year high of $395.60. The company has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 2.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.11.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pool will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 46.13%.

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.

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