Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 7.4% in Q1, now holding 12,711 shares worth approximately $4,039,000.
• Pool Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 46.13%.
• A recent analyst report raised Pool's price target from $322.00 to $346.00, indicating an optimistic outlook with a consensus rating of "Hold".

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,711 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Pool were worth $4,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 471.4% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Pool during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pool during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 790.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL stock traded down $6.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $308.63. The stock had a trading volume of 511,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 496,862. Pool Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.22 and a 52 week high of $395.60. The stock's 50 day moving average is $305.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.80. 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 market cap of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 1.07.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.99 earnings per share. Pool's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Pool has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.700-11.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 46.13%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on POOL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens lowered their price target on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $342.14.

About Pool

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.