Strs Ohio Reduces Holdings in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Strs Ohio sharply reduced its Pool Corporation stake by 91.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,069 shares and leaving it with 790 shares worth about $181,000.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains very high, with several large investors recently adding to their positions; hedge funds and other institutions own 98.99% of the stock.
• Pool reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, beating estimates, and it also announced a $600 million share buyback plus a dividend increase to $1.30 per share quarterly.

Strs Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 91.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 790 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,069 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Pool were worth $181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 357,643 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 1,301.7% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 194,880 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $56,804,000 after purchasing an additional 180,977 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Pool by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 297,361 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $68,021,000 after purchasing an additional 69,797 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Pool by 157.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 113,284 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,126,000 after buying an additional 69,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in Pool by 460.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 71,891 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $22,291,000 after buying an additional 59,070 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Pool

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent insider purchases may help support confidence in Pool Corporation (POOL), including director buying activity and a separate 10,000-share purchase disclosed over the weekend. Insider Buying: Pool NASDAQ: POOL Director Purchases $193,060.00 in Stock Insider Buying: Pool NASDAQ: POOL Director Acquires $90,206.24 in Stock De La Mesa Manuel Perez Purchases 10,000 Shares of Pool NASDAQ: POOL Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus cut its price target on POOL from $240 to $210 while keeping a hold rating, signaling a more cautious outlook but still implying some upside from current levels. Read More
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported no meaningful change, so it does not appear to be a major new driver for Pool Corporation today.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other Pool news, Director James D. Hope purchased 464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $194.41 per share, for a total transaction of $90,206.24. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,678 shares in the company, valued at $715,039.98. This trade represents a 14.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Romain Kenneth G. St purchased 5,560 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $218.67 per share, with a total value of $1,215,805.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 82,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,115,716.15. This trade represents a 7.19% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 22,024 shares of company stock worth $4,424,071. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ POOL opened at $184.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $184.50 and a twelve month high of $345.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 7.57%.The company's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Pool Corporation will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POOL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 target price on Pool in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Pool from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $261.38.

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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