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

Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,108 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,548,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Pool by 68.9% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 232.4% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 26.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Pool in the 2nd quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $369.11.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL traded down $1.73 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $360.98. 283,701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 348,016. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $365.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for 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 for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.31%.

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.