Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Price Target Cut to $18.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its price target on Hayward to $18.00 (from $19.00) while retaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly an 18% upside from the stock's current level.
• Hayward beat Q4 estimates, reporting $0.29 EPS vs. $0.28 expected and $349.4M in revenue vs. $332.8M, and set FY2026 guidance of $0.820–$0.860 EPS.
• Notable insider selling: insiders sold 172,167 shares in the last quarter (including CEO Kevin Holleran and CFO Eifion Jones); insiders now own about 4.73% of the company.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Bank of America from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.07% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on HAYW. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of Hayward in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hayward from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hayward from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hayward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.50.

Hayward Price Performance

NYSE:HAYW opened at $15.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.87 and a 200-day moving average of $15.58. Hayward has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $17.73.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $332.84 million. Hayward had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of Hayward 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 701,234 shares in the company, valued at $9,410,560.28. The trade was a 6.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total transaction of $218,550.00. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,167 shares of company stock valued at $2,586,533. 4.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HAYW. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Hayward by 10,452.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Hayward by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,058 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Hayward by 82.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Hayward by 103.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Hayward during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000.

Hayward Company 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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