Stocks settled down today prior to the extended Juneteenth weekend. This will be a three-day weekend ahead, as the stock market will be closed on Monday June 27, 2022.
Today, Friday June 17, 2022, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% to close at 3675 while the NASDAQ rose 1.4% to end the week at 10798.
Stocks been hit hard during the month of June — and free-falling this week — so it was nice to see them rise a bit to end the week.
Investors are now fearful a recession is coming, with some strategists thinking the S&P 500 could decline to the 3000-3200 area. Last week, “downside” was the 3400-3500 area.
Chart of the Day
Our chart of the day is a contrarian play. Pool Corp (POOL) is one of the finest companies in America, but the stock is in a downturn as investors get out of stocks associated with homebuilders.
The company has a long history of organic growth, market share expansion, and acquisitions.
POOL has a solid 17% Estimated Long-Term Growth Rate in addition to a 1.2% yield, and management buys back stock. Last year, management increased the dividend from $2.32 a year to $3.20.
In last qtr’s earnings call, management said that new pool construction represented 20% of POOL’s business, with maintenance accounting for 60% and renovation and and remodel accounting for 20%. So 60% of revenue is dependable recurring revenue, which brings certainty to profits.
Also, people are gonna be stuck in their homes for a while with interest rates now higher. So you might as well make the existing space better with a pool.
POOL is part of our Conservative Growth Portfolio.
