30,734 Shares in Pool Corporation $POOL Bought by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 30,734 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,605,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 197.5% during the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 170,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,533,000 after purchasing an additional 113,306 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $4,575,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Pool by 236.4% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 11,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 7,833 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $3,381,000. Finally, LRT Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter worth $1,188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on POOL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $260.00 target price on Pool in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Pool from $235.00 to $189.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $185.00 target price on Pool in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.67.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $190.47 on Tuesday. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $172.68 and a twelve month high of $336.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.05. The company has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $5.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 32.74%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.660-10.960 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

Pool announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 47.84%.

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.