Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 2,492 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 134% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,064 call options.

Hayward Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HAYW traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.08. 1,223,929 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,783,828. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Hayward has a 52-week low of $11.10 and a 52-week high of $16.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.28 and a 200-day moving average of $14.46.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. Hayward had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $228.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $216.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.08 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Hayward will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HAYW. Wolfe Research cut shares of Hayward from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Hayward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $626,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 623,540 shares in the company, valued at $7,806,720.80. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HAYW. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hayward by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,401 shares of the company's stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 19,983 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Hayward by 767.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 89,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 79,050 shares during the period. MSD Partners L.P. increased its position in Hayward by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. MSD Partners L.P. now owns 1,346,472 shares of the company's stock worth $20,588,000 after buying an additional 41,078 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Hayward by 494.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 168,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 139,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hayward by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 689,480 shares of the company's stock worth $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 21,084 shares in the last quarter.

Hayward Company 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.