Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys New Position in Pool Corporation $POOL

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 5,984 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,855,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the first quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Pool by 237.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 17,390 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 12,244 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 1st quarter valued at $639,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 164.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 156 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 201.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Pool from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 target price on shares of Pool and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pool in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Cfra raised Pool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $304.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.00.

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock opened at $265.03 on Friday. Pool Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $226.10 and a fifty-two week high of $374.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.23.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.01. Pool had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 31.40%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.58%.

Pool Profile

Pool Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related outdoor living products. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company serves a diverse customer base that includes service professionals, independent retailers, high-volume builders, and national retail chains. Pool Corporation’s extensive branch network enables it to maintain strong local customer relationships while leveraging its scale to source products efficiently from manufacturers around the world.

The company’s product portfolio spans pool and spa chemicals, water treatment equipment, pumps, filters, heaters, automation and control systems, liners, safety covers, and cleaning accessories.