Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Stake in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Pool Corporation by 17.5% in the first quarter, holding 8,088 shares valued at $2.575 million.
• Pool Corporation recently reported earnings of $5.17 EPS, slightly beating expectations, with revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%, set to be paid on August 28th.

Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,088 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Pool were worth $2,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pool by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,456,246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,418,646,000 after acquiring an additional 12,795 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Pool by 3.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,284,918 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $409,054,000 after acquiring an additional 44,897 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Pool by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,054,066 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $335,562,000 after acquiring an additional 11,552 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 598,689 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $204,117,000 after buying an additional 194,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Pool during the first quarter valued at approximately $168,735,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on POOL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Stephens cut 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $342.14.

Pool Trading Down 0.7%

Pool stock opened at $321.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.22 and a 12 month high of $395.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $306.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.28. The stock has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.07.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 30.99%. Pool's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.99 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.700-11.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.13%.

Pool declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.