Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $927,000 Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 261.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,719 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,966 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Pool by 22.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Pool by 113.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 21,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,436,000 after buying an additional 11,580 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Pool by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth $1,457,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on POOL. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.22.

Pool Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $320.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $310.34 and its 200-day moving average is $338.20. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $284.28 and a 52-week high of $395.60. The company has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.