UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Cuts Position in Pool Corporation $POOL

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 13,712 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Pool were worth $4,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Pool by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $187.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $184.50 and a 12-month high of $345.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.58.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pool news, CFO Melanie M. Hart sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $605,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,039 shares in the company, valued at $3,968,580. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James D. Hope acquired 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $194.41 per share, for a total transaction of $90,206.24. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,039.98. The trade was a 14.44% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 22,024 shares of company stock valued at $4,424,071 over the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Pool from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Pool from $346.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $265.13.

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.