Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $9.47 Million Holdings in Pool Corporation $POOL

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 8.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,783 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $9,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in POOL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its position in Pool by 136.3% during the second quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 3,458,885 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,008,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994,885 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pool in the 2nd quarter valued at $113,617,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 1,301.7% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 194,880 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,804,000 after acquiring an additional 180,977 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Pool by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 616,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $179,564,000 after acquiring an additional 160,878 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Pool by 1,201.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 90,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,295,000 after acquiring an additional 83,278 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $232.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $250.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.21. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.51 and a twelve month high of $374.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 2.57.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.01. Pool had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 31.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Pool has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.700-11.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Pool from $320.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. KeyCorp started coverage on Pool in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Pool in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $295.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $317.38.

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.