Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Price Target to $315.00

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $360.00 to $315.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on POOL. StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $360.33.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $301.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Pool has a 1-year low of $284.28 and a 1-year high of $395.60. The stock has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Pool will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Pool by 2,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 471.4% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.