Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Stake in Pool Corporation $POOL

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 93.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 13,406 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Pool were worth $214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of POOL. Caledonia Investments PLC lifted its position in Pool by 5.2% during the third quarter. Caledonia Investments PLC now owns 160,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $49,886,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,575,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,399,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Pool by 236.4% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 11,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,550,000 after buying an additional 7,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $599,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Pool from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Pool from $346.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $261.38.

Pool Price Performance

POOL stock opened at $185.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $199.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.10. Pool Corporation has a 52-week low of $172.68 and a 52-week high of $345.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. Pool had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 7.57%.The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.84%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other Pool news, Director John E. Stokely purchased 1,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $193.06 per share, with a total value of $193,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,363.80. This trade represents a 6.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez purchased 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $175.95 per share, for a total transaction of $1,759,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,002.60. This represents a 33.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 26,989 shares of company stock worth $5,067,747 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Pool Corporation as a leader in pool distributors, which may reinforce the company’s long-term competitive positioning and brand strength. What Makes Pool Corporation (POOL) a Leader in Pool Distributors?
• Neutral Sentiment: An additional write-up repeated the same “leader in pool distributors” theme, but it appears to be a commentary piece rather than a new market-moving development. What Makes Pool Corporation (POOL) a Leader in Pool Distributors?
• Neutral Sentiment: The remaining headlines mentioning “pool” were unrelated to Pool Corporation, focusing on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and political commentary, so they should not materially affect POOL shares.

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.