Analysts Set Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) PT at $344.50

Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $344.50.

Several research firms have recently commented on POOL. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Institutional Trading of Pool

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Pool by 2,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Pool by 471.4% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Pool in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Pool by 790.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL traded up $5.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $308.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 733,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,341. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $300.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $320.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.79. Pool has a 1-year low of $282.22 and a 1-year high of $395.60.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors 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.