Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Acquires 2,208 Shares of Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 130.2%, owning a total of 3,904 shares valued at approximately $1.24 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 46.13%.
• Pool Corporation's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $5.17, exceeding expectations, with revenue reaching $1.78 billion for the quarter.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 130.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,904 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP's holdings in Pool were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Pool by 907.2% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,768,000 after buying an additional 33,686 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Pool by 3.1% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 8,076 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,571,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,954 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $921,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Pool in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,084,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of POOL traded down $6.5070 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $308.4430. The stock had a trading volume of 162,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,655. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $305.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.00. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.22 and a twelve month high of $395.60.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 46.13%.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $342.14.

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.