Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 2,930 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,967 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,930 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Pool worth $11,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. CWM LLC lifted its position in Pool by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 777 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Pool in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $160,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Pool by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,682 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,141,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Pool in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Pool by 188.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 709 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $344.00. The company had a trading volume of 780,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,321. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $422.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $343.47 and a 200-day moving average of $355.62. The firm has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.03.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on POOL. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $368.00.

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.