Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Price Target Raised to $415.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $365.00 to $415.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Pool from $416.00 to $356.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $347.22.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL stock opened at $371.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market cap of $14.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.00. Pool has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $336.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.62.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pool will post 11.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.56%.

Institutional Trading of Pool

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Pool by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,224 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pool by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP grew its stake in shares of Pool by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 2,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.