Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) Stock Price Down 6.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Latham Group shares fell 6.6% to $5.95 after William Blair downgraded the stock from “outperform” to “market perform.” Trading volume was also about 80% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating, seven total ratings, and an average price target of $7.83. The company’s latest quarterly earnings per share of $0.11 missed estimates, although revenue exceeded expectations.
• Institutional ownership is high at 83.95%, with several hedge funds increasing their positions during the second quarter, including Wellington Management, which added more than 2.2 million shares.

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM - Get Free Report) shares were down 6.6% on Thursday after William Blair downgraded the stock from an outperform rating to a market perform rating. The company traded as low as $5.79 and last traded at $5.95. 166,750 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 852,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.37.

A number of other analysts have also commented on SWIM. Barclays boosted their price objective on Latham Group from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research raised Latham Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Latham Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $7.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Latham Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Latham Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Latham Group by 68.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 574,790 shares of the company's stock worth $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 234,130 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Latham Group by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 15,529 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Latham Group by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,364,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201,843 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Latham Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $653,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Latham Group Trading Down 6.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $699.55 million, a PE ratio of 118.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.02.

Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $197.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.39 million. Latham Group had a net margin of 0.92% and a return on equity of 1.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Latham Group, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Latham Group Company Profile

Latham Group, Inc is a manufacturer and marketer of residential swimming pool products. The company focuses primarily on the in-ground pool market and supplies products used in the construction, renovation and maintenance of swimming pools.

Its product portfolio includes fiberglass pool shells, vinyl pool liners, automatic safety covers and related pool components and accessories. Latham sells its products through a network of dealers, builders and distributors, serving both new pool construction and replacement and remodeling demand.

The company serves customers primarily in North America, with operations and sales activities in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.