Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL – Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 152,624 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,917 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $30,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 16.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,563,373 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $794,825,000 after acquiring an additional 357,643 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Pool by 3,831.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,001,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $457,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,070 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Pool by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,371,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $313,794,000 after purchasing an additional 23,736 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Pool by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 837,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,614,000 after purchasing an additional 148,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pool in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,612,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have commented on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Pool from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.38.
Pool Trading Up 0.4%
NASDAQ POOL opened at $215.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.05. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $172.68 and a 12 month high of $345.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $195.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.
Pool (NASDAQ:POOL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.
Pool Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is 47.84%.
Pool declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity at Pool
In other news, Director David G. Whalen acquired 525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $190.44 per share, with a total value of $99,981.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,936 shares in the company, valued at $1,701,771.84. This trade represents a 6.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James D. Hope acquired 464 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $194.41 per share, for a total transaction of $90,206.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,678 shares in the company, valued at $715,039.98. This trade represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 21,989 shares of company stock worth $4,042,747. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.
Pool Company Profile
Pool Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related outdoor living products. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company serves a diverse customer base that includes service professionals, independent retailers, high-volume builders, and national retail chains. Pool Corporation’s extensive branch network enables it to maintain strong local customer relationships while leveraging its scale to source products efficiently from manufacturers around the world.
The company’s product portfolio spans pool and spa chemicals, water treatment equipment, pumps, filters, heaters, automation and control systems, liners, safety covers, and cleaning accessories.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Pool
- AirJoule Unveils Prime System, Clearing Path to Commercialization
- Copper Stocks Are Getting a Bigger Spotlight as Gold’s Rally Cracks
- Nike Q4 Beat Masks Core Weakness as Analysts Cut Price Targets
- Uber’s Waymo Detour Tests the Stock’s Robotaxi Bull Case
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding POOL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Pool Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pool and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
