Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Increases Dividend to $1.20 Per Share

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 1st, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of 1.20 per share by the specialty retailer on Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10.

Pool has raised its dividend payment by an average of 23.4% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Pool has a payout ratio of 30.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Pool to earn $14.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.4%.

Pool Trading Up 1.6 %

Pool stock traded up $5.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $365.88. The stock had a trading volume of 176,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,565. Pool has a one year low of $307.77 and a one year high of $422.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $374.17.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Pool will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total value of $441,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on POOL shares. TheStreet downgraded Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.80.

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.