Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stock Position in Pool Corporation $POOL

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 11.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,189 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Pool were worth $14,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pool in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool by 237.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 17,390 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,536,000 after buying an additional 12,244 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the first quarter valued at $639,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 164.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 156 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 201.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 1,344 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other Pool news, CFO Melanie M. Hart sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $605,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,039 shares in the company, valued at $3,968,580. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Romain Kenneth G. St acquired 5,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $218.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,215,805.20. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 82,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,115,716.15. This represents a 7.19% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ POOL opened at $222.00 on Tuesday. Pool Corporation has a 52 week low of $210.67 and a 52 week high of $374.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $247.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.25.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $982.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.14 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 7.67%.Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.850-11.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Pool from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Cfra raised shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $304.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.50.

Pool 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.