Pool’s (POOL) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by Stephens in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $225.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential upside of 14.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $235.00 to $189.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Pool from $226.00 to $206.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $185.00 target price on Pool in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $260.00 price target on Pool in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Pool from $280.00 to $227.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.67.

Pool Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $195.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.67. Pool has a 52-week low of $172.68 and a 52-week high of $336.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $200.70 and a 200 day moving average of $208.13.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.17 earnings per share. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.660-10.960 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pool will post 10.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the second quarter worth $866,576,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 3,831.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,001,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $457,955,000 after buying an additional 1,951,070 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Pool in the 2nd quarter worth about $148,216,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Pool in the 2nd quarter worth about $93,011,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pool in the 4th quarter worth about $97,612,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.