Citigroup Inc. Grows Stake in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 107.8%, acquiring an additional 21,319 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 41,097 shares valued at $13 million.
• Pool Corporation reported earnings per share of $5.17, surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.12, while revenues slightly missed forecasts at $1.78 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $5.00 and a yield of 1.6%, in addition to a $600 million share repurchase program approved by its board.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 107.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,097 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 21,319 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Pool worth $13,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Pool by 17.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 70,755 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $22,525,000 after buying an additional 10,421 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Pool by 127.1% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 8,494 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,704,000 after buying an additional 4,753 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Pool by 4.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 368,583 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $117,338,000 after buying an additional 14,422 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in Pool during the first quarter worth approximately $294,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Pool by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,456,246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,418,646,000 after buying an additional 12,795 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on POOL shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $342.14.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL traded up $9.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $325.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 133,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,736. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.07. Pool Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.22 and a 1-year high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.05. Pool had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 7.79%.The business had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.99 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Pool has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.700-11.200 EPS. Analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.13%.

Pool 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.