Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Pool Corporation $POOL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,544 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $811,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Pool by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Pool during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Pool by 348.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Pool during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other Pool news, Director James D. Hope bought 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $194.41 per share, with a total value of $90,206.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,039.98. This trade represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $175.95 per share, with a total value of $1,759,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 40,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,057,002.60. The trade was a 33.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 26,989 shares of company stock valued at $5,067,747 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.38.

Key Headlines Impacting Pool

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Pool Corp. could be a stock that goes higher, which may help sentiment by reinforcing the view that the shares could recover from recent weakness. Jim Cramer: This Real Estate Stock Is ‘Going To Go Higher’
• Positive Sentiment: Argosy Investors disclosed that it added Pool to its portfolio, which can be viewed as a vote of confidence from an institutional investor. Argosy Investors adds Capital One and Pool as it exits multiple holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: There was a note about short interest in Pool rising, but the reported figure was 0 shares, so it does not appear to be a meaningful new signal for the stock.

Pool Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $181.40 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $201.61 and a 200-day moving average of $227.10. The firm has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.16. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $172.68 and a twelve month high of $345.00. 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 (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.84%.

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.