Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $6.94 Million Stake in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management cut its stake in Pool by 49.9% to 30,332 shares, a position valued at about $6.94 million.
• Q1 beat and guidance reaffirmed: Pool posted $1.43 EPS (above estimates), reported ~6% sales growth and confirmed FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $10.87–$11.17, supporting a constructive near‑term outlook.
• Rising inventories, margin pressure and higher leverage: inventory grew ~14% YoY and gross margin fell ~20 bps to 29.0%, while the company added roughly $222.6M of debt to fund ~$349M of share buybacks, increasing leverage and interest‑rate risk.

Advisors Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 49.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,332 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 30,265 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Pool worth $6,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Pool by 43.9% in the third quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 40,719 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,626,000 after purchasing an additional 12,424 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,399,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 42.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,333 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,741,000 after purchasing an additional 4,551 shares during the period. Finally, Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 1.8% during the third quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 114,317 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $35,446,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Key Pool News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and guidance reaffirmed — POOL reported Q1 EPS above expectations, raised or reaffirmed its FY‑2026 EPS range of $10.87–$11.17 and highlighted 6% sales growth and operating income expansion; investors are rewarding the better‑than‑expected EPS and the company’s confident outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price target bump — Stifel raised its POOL price target to $240 (still a Hold), providing some incremental analyst support to the shares. Read more via Benzinga. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings call tone constructive — Management emphasized resilient maintenance demand, gradual recovery in discretionary categories, contribution from greenfield locations and confidence in driving operating‑expense leverage as new centers mature. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer interest signals — coverage of pool‑cleaning robots and related pool‑product shopping (wired articles) could support seasonal demand for pool accessories and maintenance products, but impact on wholesale distributor POOL is indirect and timing‑dependent. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance mixed — some firms maintain Hold/Neutral ratings citing balanced risk/reward amid margin pressures and macro uncertainty; that tempers near‑term upside despite the beat. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Inventory build and margin pressure — inventory rose ~14% year‑over‑year and gross margin fell ~20 bps (to 29.0%) due to seasonal mix and early buys; higher inventories may pressure working capital and margins into the season. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher leverage from buybacks — total debt increased materially (about $222.6M) largely to fund ~$349M of open‑market share repurchases; higher interest expense and leverage are risks if discretionary demand weakens. Read More.

Insider Activity

In other Pool news, SVP Romain Kenneth G. St purchased 5,560 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $218.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,215,805.20. Following the purchase, the senior vice president owned 82,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,115,716.15. This trade represents a 7.19% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melanie M. Hart sold 2,750 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,968,580. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $232.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $216.54 and a 200-day moving average of $241.90. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $195.49 and a 12 month high of $345.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.26.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Pool from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Pool in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $274.56.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.