John Stokely Acquires 1,000 Shares of Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) Stock

Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Director John Stokely purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $193.06 per share, with a total value of $193,060.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 16,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,363.80. This represents a 6.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Pool Price Performance

POOL stock opened at $187.77 on Friday. Pool Corporation has a 1 year low of $184.50 and a 1 year high of $345.00. The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.09 and a 200 day moving average of $237.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

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

Pool declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pool

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 348.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Pool

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Manuel J. Perez de la Mesa bought 10,000 shares for about $1.9 million, a sizable increase in his stake that can signal strong insider confidence in Pool Corporation’s outlook. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Director John E. Stokely purchased 1,000 shares, adding to his position and reinforcing the view that management insiders see value at current levels. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Director James D. Hope also bought shares, further adding to the insider-buying cluster that often supports investor sentiment. SEC filing
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a note titled “Pool Corporation: Abrupt CEO Change Doesn’t Disrupt Earnings (Rating Upgrade),” suggesting at least one analyst sees the leadership change as manageable and the earnings outlook still intact. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated articles about pools, pool financing, and pool cleaners appeared in the news feed, but they do not appear to be direct company-specific catalysts for Pool Corporation.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pool from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $265.13.

About Pool

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.