Hayward Holdings, Inc. $HAYW Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hayward Holdings, Inc. by 36%, now owning $49.09 million worth of shares.
• Stifel Nicolaus raised the price target for Hayward from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating.
• Company insiders, including CFO Eifion Jones and CEO Kevin Holleran, sold a total of 80,571 shares recently, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW - Free Report) by 36.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,633,925 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 962,402 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.68% of Hayward worth $49,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HAYW. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 99,195 shares of the company's stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hayward by 9.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Hayward by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 33,680 shares of the company's stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hayward by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 59,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hayward by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,685 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period.

Hayward Price Performance

Shares of Hayward stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,399,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,978,288. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50 day moving average is $15.47 and its 200 day moving average is $14.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.10 and a twelve month high of $16.87.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $291.17 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 12.04%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. Hayward has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In related news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 287,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,739,311.50. This trade represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 60,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.27, for a total value of $924,919.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,521,455.80. This trade represents a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,142 shares of company stock valued at $2,347,527 in the last three months. 5.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hayward from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hayward has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.50.

Hayward Profile

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.