UBS Group AG Sells 317,468 Shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. $HAYW

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Hayward stake by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 317,468 shares and ending with 863,967 shares valued at about $13.35 million.
• Hayward’s latest earnings beat Wall Street expectations, with quarterly EPS of $0.13 versus $0.11 expected and revenue of $255.22 million, up 11.5% year over year. The company also raised guidance, and analysts now expect about $0.86 EPS for the current year.
• Sentiment among analysts remains mixed: the stock has an average “Hold” rating with a $17.50 target price, while some firms kept buy ratings and others lowered their views. Insider selling has also been notable, including sales by the CFO and CEO over the past few months.

UBS Group AG lowered its stake in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW - Free Report) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 863,967 shares of the company's stock after selling 317,468 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.40% of Hayward worth $13,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HAYW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 36.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 126,506 shares of the company's stock worth $1,760,000 after acquiring an additional 33,614 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Hayward by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 486,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,767,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Hayward by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 38,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 2,885 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Hayward by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,061,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,254,000 after buying an additional 149,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hayward by 149.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 2,814 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HAYW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.50 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Hayward in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hayward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hayward from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hayward presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.50.

Hayward Stock Performance

NYSE:HAYW opened at $13.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a current ratio of 3.26. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.04 and a fifty-two week high of $17.73.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $255.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.13 million. Hayward had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 11.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In other Hayward news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 316,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,605,577. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total transaction of $703,060.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 701,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,410,560.28. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 119,778 shares of company stock valued at $1,745,689. 4.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hayward Profile

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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