Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HAYW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Hayward from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Hayward Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HAYW opened at $15.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.42. Hayward has a 52 week low of $11.10 and a 52 week high of $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.18.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $244.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.46 million. Hayward had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 60,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.13, for a total transaction of $977,010.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,057,700.20. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Eifion Jones sold 25,000 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction of $437,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 287,231 shares in the company, valued at $5,026,542.50. This represents a 8.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 146,142 shares of company stock worth $2,428,469 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Hayward in the third quarter valued at about $37,846,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hayward by 60.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 351,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,318,000 after purchasing an additional 132,981 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hayward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,123,000. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in shares of Hayward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $179,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Hayward in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,011,000.

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.