Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 10.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,876 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,402 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $20,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,102,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $646,291,000 after purchasing an additional 33,955 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Pool by 1.3% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 854,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $262,678,000 after buying an additional 11,059 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Pool by 26.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $133,125,000 after buying an additional 90,951 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pool by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 430,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $132,244,000 after buying an additional 37,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 343,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,531,000 after acquiring an additional 12,152 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $369.11.

Pool Stock Up 0.4 %

POOL stock opened at $360.84 on Tuesday. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73. The stock has a market cap of $13.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $364.43 and its 200 day moving average is $352.32.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 41.31%.

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.