Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) vs. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) Financial Comparison

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) and Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Hayward, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	0	4	5	0	2.56
Hayward	1	6	2	0	2.11

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor currently has a consensus target price of $54.67, suggesting a potential upside of 22.93%. Hayward has a consensus target price of $17.12, suggesting a potential upside of 0.14%. Given Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor is more favorable than Hayward.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.3% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Hayward shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Hayward”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	$1.70 billion	4.33	$198.00 million	$1.71	26.01
Hayward	$1.12 billion	3.18	$151.57 million	$0.78	21.92

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has higher revenue and earnings than Hayward. Hayward is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Hayward’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	15.91%	18.46%	11.06%
Hayward	14.35%	11.95%	6.11%

Risk and Volatility

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hayward has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor beats Hayward on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names. The company also provides flow systems products comprising point drains, hydrants, fixture carrier systems, chemical drainage systems; and interceptors and separators, acid neutralization systems, and remote monitoring systems under the Zurn and Green Turtle brands. In addition, it develops, manufactures, and markets remote tank monitoring devices, alarms, software, and services. Further, the company offers sensor-operated flush valves under the AquaSense, Aquaflush, and AquaVantage brands; heavy-duty commercial faucets under the AquaSpec brand; water conserving fixtures under the EcoVantage and Zurn One brands; stainless steel products under the Just Manufacturing brand name, which include stainless steel sinks and plumbing fixtures, and various types of sinks, as well as drinking water dispensing and filtration products under the Elkay and Halsey Taylor brands. It distributes to institutional, commercial, waterworks, and residential end markets through independent sales representatives, plumbing wholesalers, and industry-specific distributors in the waterworks, foodservice, industrial, janitorial, sanitation, and sitework industries. The company was formerly known as Zurn Water Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation in July 2022. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of pool equipment and associated automation systems in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers pool equipment, including pumps, filters, robotics, suction and pressure cleaners, gas heaters and heat pumps, water features and landscape lighting, water sanitizers, salt chlorine generators, safety equipment, and in-floor automated cleaning systems, as well as LED illumination solutions. It sells its products through specialty distributors, retailers, and buying groups. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.