Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors increased its Pool Corporation stake by 5.5% in the first quarter, buying 7,917 additional shares and bringing its total to 152,624 shares worth about $30.9 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted holdings, and 98.99% of Pool’s stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions, indicating heavy institutional ownership.
• Pool reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, beating expectations, and it recently raised its dividend to $1.30 per share while authorizing a $600 million share buyback.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,624 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 7,917 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.42% of Pool worth $30,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Pool by 16.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,563,373 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $794,825,000 after acquiring an additional 357,643 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pool by 3,831.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,001,987 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $457,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,070 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,371,772 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $313,794,000 after purchasing an additional 23,736 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 837,658 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $191,614,000 after purchasing an additional 148,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,612,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised Pool from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Pool from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.38.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $175.95 per share, with a total value of $1,759,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 40,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,057,002.60. The trade was a 33.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John E. Stokely acquired 1,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $193.06 per share, with a total value of $193,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,133,363.80. The trade was a 6.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 21,989 shares of company stock valued at $4,042,747. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $215.69 on Thursday. Pool Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $172.68 and a fifty-two week high of $345.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.84%.

Pool declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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