Pool Corp. (POOL) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

In the latest trading session, Pool Corp. (POOL) closed at $334.72, marking a +0.4% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.35%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.6%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the distributor of supplies for swimming pools had gained 10.91% over the past month. This has outpaced the Consumer Discretionary sector's gain of 4.03% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.48% in that time.

POOL will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, POOL is projected to report earnings of $2.14 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 16.3%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $986.35 million, up 9.78% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.25 per share and revenue of $3.58 billion. These totals would mark changes of +13.28% and +11.78%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for POOL should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 21.49% higher within the past month. POOL is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

In terms of valuation, POOL is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 45.98. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.57.

The Leisure and Recreation Products industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 5, which puts it in the top 2% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.