Pool Corporation $POOL Shares Acquired by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo boosted its stake in Pool by 40.9% in Q4 to 57,370 shares (≈$13.1M), and institutional investors now own about 98.99% of the company.
• Pool missed Q4 expectations, posting $0.84 EPS vs. $0.99 expected and $982.2M revenue vs. $999.1M expected, while management set FY‑2026 guidance of $10.85–$11.15 EPS and analysts forecast about $11.32 with a consensus "Hold" target of $279.63.
• Insider activity was mixed: SVP Romain Kenneth G. St bought 5,560 shares at $218.67 (now owns 82,845), while CFO Melanie Hart sold 2,750 shares at $220, reducing her stake by about 13.2%.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 40.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,370 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 16,651 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Pool worth $13,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in shares of Pool by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 3,853 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth $271,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth $300,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 970.4% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 6,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Romain Kenneth G. St acquired 5,560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $218.67 per share, with a total value of $1,215,805.20. Following the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 82,845 shares in the company, valued at $18,115,716.15. The trade was a 7.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Melanie M. Hart sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $605,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,968,580. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Pool Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of POOL stock opened at $217.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $222.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.90. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $195.49 and a twelve month high of $345.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.15). Pool had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The firm had revenue of $982.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.850-11.150 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on POOL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Pool in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Pool from $346.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.63.

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.

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