Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $13.03, but opened at $13.80. Hayward shares last traded at $14.5050, with a volume of 684,390 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $260.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Hayward in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Hayward in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $620,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 401,234 shares in the company, valued at $4,975,301.60. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Susan Canning sold 3,500 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.70, for a total value of $40,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 164,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,923,608.70. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 157,000 shares of company stock worth $2,163,890. 4.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hayward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Hayward in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hayward during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hayward by 95.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Hayward by 178.1% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hayward by 33.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period.

Hayward Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 1.18.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc designs, manufactures and markets equipment and technologies used in residential and commercial swimming pools. Its product portfolio includes pumps, filters, heaters, heat pumps, automatic pool cleaners, lighting, sanitization systems, water features and pool-control and automation solutions.

The company sells products under the Hayward brand and serves pool owners, builders, retailers, distributors and service professionals. Its equipment is used in both new pool construction and the replacement and renovation market, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, water quality and connected pool-management technologies.

Hayward traces its roots to 1925 and has developed into a global pool-equipment supplier.