Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Has $42.63 Million Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,893 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,195 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $42,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 484 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 8.3% during the first quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its position in Pool by 24.3% during the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 876 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Pool by 6.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,583 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.22.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ POOL opened at $290.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.12. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $303.52 and a 200-day moving average of $328.43. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $284.28 and a 52-week high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding 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 often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

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.