FWL Investment Management LLC Takes $39,000 Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 2,300.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Pool by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of POOL stock opened at $301.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $284.28 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $315.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.44.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) 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 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.90%.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.