StockNews.com Downgrades Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) to Sell

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.00.

Pool Stock Up 1.3 %

Pool stock opened at $347.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pool has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 2,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Pool during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors 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.