Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Rating Lowered to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Hayward from “hold” to “strong sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold” with a $16.62 target price.
• Hayward shares opened at $12.09, near their 52-week low, despite the company beating quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and reporting 6.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insiders sold 157,000 shares worth approximately $2.16 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CEO and a senior vice president, while several institutional investors increased their positions.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on HAYW. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hayward from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Hayward from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Hayward in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.62.

Hayward Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:HAYW opened at $12.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 3.33. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.18. Hayward has a fifty-two week low of $11.24 and a fifty-two week high of $17.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.28.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Hayward had a net margin of 13.83% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $318.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Analysts predict that Hayward will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hayward

In other news, SVP Susan M. Canning sold 3,500 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,923,608.70. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $620,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 401,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,975,301.60. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 157,000 shares of company stock worth $2,163,890. Insiders own 4.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hayward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $422,455,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Hayward by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,453,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,726,000 after purchasing an additional 761,145 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hayward by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,798,842 shares of the company's stock worth $64,209,000 after purchasing an additional 90,733 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Hayward by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,975,392 shares of the company's stock worth $39,811,000 after purchasing an additional 605,743 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Hayward in the third quarter worth approximately $38,607,000.

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.

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