Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 12.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Pool by 907.2% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,768,000 after acquiring an additional 33,686 shares during the last quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter valued at $921,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pool by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $429,000. Finally, Covea Finance acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter valued at $1,910,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POOL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $342.00.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $301.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $321.60. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.22 and a twelve month high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The business’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Pool’s payout ratio is 46.90%.

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.