Spring is when folks start thinking about living out by the pool....or they start thinking about getting one. Either way, they are liable to do some business that benefits an outfit in Covington, Louisiana.

Pool Corporation (NASDAQ: POOL) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of pool supplies, operating 282 service centers throughout North America and Europe. Customers include some 70,000 pool builders, retail pool stores and pool service companies. The firm distributes more than 100,000 stock items, including chemicals, pumps, filters, heaters, lights, building materials and various outdoor lifestyle products. Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is among Pool's major competitors.

The company surprised the Street last week, when it reported solid Q1 results and issued upside guidance for FY07 earnings. POOL shares popped through 90-day and 200-day moving average resistance on the news and are now forming a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the stock with four "strong buys," one "buy" and six "holds." Analysts expect an 18% growth rate, through the next year. The POOL PEG ratio (1.49), Price to Sales ratio (1.00), Return on Assets (12.33%), Return on Investment (20.56%) and Return on Equity (33.97%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $33.77 and $47.95. A stop-loss of $33.50 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.