Pool Corporation $POOL Holdings Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 2.9%, holding 483,882 shares valued at approximately $154 million.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Pool, with Wells Fargo raising their target from $300 to $320, while Oppenheimer increased it from $322 to $346, indicating a general consensus rating of "Hold."
• Pool Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, totaling an annualized yield of 1.6%, alongside a stock buyback program allowing the repurchase of up to $600 million worth of shares.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 483,882 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 13,648 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.29% of Pool worth $154,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Pool by 471.4% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Pool in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pool in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Pool by 790.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens decreased their price target on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $342.14.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL traded down $5.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $309.32. 177,728 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 516,838. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $305.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.00. Pool Corporation has a one year low of $282.22 and a one year high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.05. Pool had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 7.79%.The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.99 earnings per share. Pool's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Pool has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.700-11.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.13%.

Pool declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Company Profile

Pool Corporation distributes swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related leisure products in the United States and internationally. The company offers maintenance products, including chemicals, supplies, and pool accessories; repair and replacement parts for pool equipment, such as cleaners, filters, heaters, pumps, and lights; and building materials, such as concrete, plumbing and electrical components, functional and decorative pool surfaces, decking materials, tiles, hardscapes, and natural stones for pool installations and remodeling.