Jennison Associates LLC Buys 103,290 Shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. $HAYW

Key Points

• Jennison Associates increased its stake in Hayward by 103,290 shares in Q4 to 4,708,109 shares, now owning about 2.17% of the company worth roughly $72.7 million, alongside other large holders like Vanguard and JPMorgan.
• Q1 beat and guidance raise: Hayward reported $0.13 EPS (vs. $0.11 est.) and $255.2M revenue (up 11.5% YoY), and management lifted FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $0.84–$0.87 with net sales growth ~5%.
• Insider selling and analyst view: Insiders sold 172,167 shares in the last 90 days (including CEO and CFO sales), while the sell‑side consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $17.50.

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,708,109 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 103,290 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 2.17% of Hayward worth $72,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HAYW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Hayward by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,683,580 shares of the company's stock worth $176,656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627,348 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Hayward in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,846,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hayward in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,402,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Hayward by 499.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,947,137 shares of the company's stock worth $29,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,458 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hayward by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,827,605 shares of the company's stock worth $314,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,072 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Key Stories Impacting Hayward

Here are the key news stories impacting Hayward this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus — Hayward reported $0.13 EPS and $255.2M revenue (both above expectations), with revenue up ~11.5% YoY, signaling solid demand and margin performance. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY2026 outlook — Management now sees adjusted EPS $0.84–$0.87 and net sales growth ~5%, which aligns with stronger aftermarket trends and supports current consensus (~$0.85). This guidance lift is a primary driver of the stock strength. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Aftermarket and price realization explain beat — A deep‑dive piece highlights aftermarket strength and successful price realization as the mechanics behind the better quarter and guidance raise, suggesting the upside is partially structural rather than one‑off. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Management tone on the call was constructive — Earnings call/transcript and slide deck reiterate confidence in execution, margin progress and continued aftermarket demand; useful for gauging cadence of the FY26 plan. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Local Hayward (CA) headlines — Several stories about the Hayward Fault and other Bay Area developments are drawing attention to the name “Hayward,” but these items relate to the city and broader regional risk rather than the company’s pool‑equipment business; likely headline noise, not a fundamentals driver. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Other Hayward‑city news (tech and startup deals) — Coverage of companies opening factories or signing large local deals in Hayward, CA, may increase name recognition but have no material impact on Hayward Holdings’ financials. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Zacks cut Hayward from “strong‑buy” to “hold,” which could temper short‑term momentum or investor enthusiasm despite the beat and guidance raise. Article

Hayward Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE HAYW opened at $15.01 on Friday. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.04 and a 12 month high of $17.73. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.63 and a 200-day moving average of $15.57.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 13.98%.The company had revenue of $255.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Hayward's revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total value of $703,060.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 701,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,410,560.28. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total value of $218,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 316,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,605,577. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 172,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,586,533 in the last 90 days. 4.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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