Weiss Ratings Reiterates Hold (C+) Rating for Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated a "Hold (C+)" rating for Hayward (NYSE:HAYW), while Stifel Nicolaus upgraded their price target from $17.50 to $18.00 with a "Buy" rating.
• Hayward recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.24, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.22, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.3%.
• Insider transactions show significant selling, with CEO Kevin Holleran and CFO Eifion Jones reducing their shares, indicating possible concerns over future performance.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c+)" rating reiterated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hayward from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Hayward Stock Performance

Hayward stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $15.34. The stock had a trading volume of 287,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,021,395. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.11. Hayward has a fifty-two week low of $11.10 and a fifty-two week high of $16.87.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $299.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $291.17 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 12.04%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Hayward has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hayward will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 60,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.27, for a total transaction of $924,919.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,521,455.80. This trade represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Eifion Jones sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 287,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,739,311.50. This represents a 6.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 156,142 shares of company stock valued at $2,405,676. 5.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HAYW. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI raised its holdings in Hayward by 63.0% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 6,709,914 shares of the company's stock worth $93,402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592,926 shares in the last quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP increased its position in Hayward by 43.4% during the first quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 4,589,097 shares of the company's stock worth $63,880,000 after buying an additional 1,389,434 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Hayward by 17.2% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,056,232 shares of the company's stock worth $124,976,000 after buying an additional 1,330,482 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hayward by 36.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,633,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,094,000 after purchasing an additional 962,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hayward by 34,359.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 862,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,011,000 after purchasing an additional 860,367 shares during 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.

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