Hilton Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,108 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,548,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of POOL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 68.9% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 232.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 26.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the second quarter worth $75,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on POOL. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $369.11.

Pool Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Pool stock opened at $362.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.31. The company has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.39.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.31%.

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.