Wall Street Zen Downgrades Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) to Sell

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Cfra upgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $304.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Pool in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.50.

Pool Trading Down 1.1%

Pool stock opened at $198.74 on Friday. Pool has a 52 week low of $197.13 and a 52 week high of $345.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.12.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $982.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.14 million. Pool had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 31.49%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.850-11.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pool will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, CFO Melanie M. Hart sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $605,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,968,580. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Romain Kenneth G. St acquired 5,560 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $218.67 per share, with a total value of $1,215,805.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 82,845 shares in the company, valued at $18,115,716.15. This trade represents a 7.19% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 3,879.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 33,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,764,000 after purchasing an additional 33,089 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Pool by 1,719.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 133,738 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,593,000 after buying an additional 126,387 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Pool by 3,512.1% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,192 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Pool by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,333 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

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.