Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Hayward from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Hayward Stock Performance

Hayward stock opened at $15.78 on Monday. Hayward has a 1-year low of $11.10 and a 1-year high of $17.73. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.42.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Hayward had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The firm had revenue of $244.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 60,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.13, for a total value of $977,010.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,057,700.20. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Eifion Jones sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction of $437,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 287,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,026,542.50. The trade was a 8.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,142 shares of company stock valued at $2,428,469. Company insiders own 5.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hayward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HAYW. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hayward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $330,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Hayward by 14.2% in the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,999,000 after buying an additional 73,900 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hayward by 10.3% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 17,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in Hayward by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 61,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 26,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Hayward by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,056,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,482 shares in the last quarter.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc is a leading manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial swimming pool equipment and related outdoor living products. The company designs, engineers and produces a comprehensive range of products that address water circulation, filtration, heating, sanitation, automation, lighting and cleaning needs for pools and spas. Hayward’s offerings include pumps, filters, heaters, salt and chemical sanitization systems, automation controls, lights, robotic cleaners and various accessories that serve both new pool construction and aftermarket renovation markets.

Hayward’s product portfolio is organized into several core categories.