Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Upgraded at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America upgraded Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) from "underperform" to "buy" and set a $19 price target, implying about a 23.8% upside from the prior close.
• Hayward topped quarterly estimates with $0.29 EPS (vs. $0.28 est.) and $349.4M revenue (vs. $332.8M est.), and set FY2026 guidance of 0.820–0.860 EPS.
• CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares (~$824k) on March 2; insiders sold 157,168 shares over the past three months but still own 5.06% of the company.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America's target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.78% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HAYW. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hayward from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research lowered Hayward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Hayward Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of HAYW opened at $15.35 on Friday. Hayward has a 1-year low of $11.10 and a 1-year high of $17.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $16.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.73, for a total transaction of $824,078.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 748,540 shares in the company, valued at $11,774,534.20. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 157,168 shares of company stock valued at $2,502,639. Insiders own 5.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 buying an additional 33,614 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Hayward by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 486,132 shares of the company's stock worth $6,767,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew 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 worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Hayward by 5.5% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 31,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Hayward by 1.7% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 43,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter.

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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