Insider Buying: Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Director Purchases $1,900,000.00 in Stock

Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Director De La Mesa Manuel Perez bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $190.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,720,520. This trade represents a 49.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $187.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Pool Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $184.50 and a fifty-two week high of $345.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is 46.00%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Pool from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 target price on Pool in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Pool by 16.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $457,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,070 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Pool by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,371,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $313,794,000 after acquiring an additional 23,736 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 837,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,614,000 after acquiring an additional 148,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 438,476 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $135,958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Pool News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Manuel J. Perez de la Mesa bought 10,000 shares for about $1.9 million, a sizable increase in his stake that can signal strong insider confidence in Pool Corporation’s outlook. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Director John E. Stokely purchased 1,000 shares, adding to his position and reinforcing the view that management insiders see value at current levels. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Director James D. Hope also bought shares, further adding to the insider-buying cluster that often supports investor sentiment. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a note titled “Pool Corporation: Abrupt CEO Change Doesn’t Disrupt Earnings (Rating Upgrade),” suggesting at least one analyst sees the leadership change as manageable and the earnings outlook still intact. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated articles about pools, pool financing, and pool cleaners appeared in the news feed, but they do not appear to be direct company-specific catalysts for Pool Corporation.

About Pool

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.