Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Hayward Holdings, Inc. $HAYW

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,933,077 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105,472 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Hayward worth $323,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hayward in the third quarter worth $37,846,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hayward by 35.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 956,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,460,000 after buying an additional 250,214 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hayward by 3.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,650,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,549,000 after buying an additional 211,075 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Hayward by 23.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 441,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,670,000 after buying an additional 84,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of Hayward in the third quarter worth $1,001,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.73, for a total value of $824,078.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 748,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,774,534.20. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total transaction of $218,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,605,577. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 119,778 shares of company stock valued at $1,745,689. Corporate insiders own 4.73% of the company’s stock.

Hayward Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Hayward stock opened at $14.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 2.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.56. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.04 and a 1 year high of $17.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. Hayward had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 11.45%. The company had revenue of $255.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HAYW shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Hayward in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Hayward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Hayward from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hayward from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hayward presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

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.