Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.70, but opened at $6.97. Latham Group shares last traded at $6.76, with a volume of 524,298 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SWIM. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Latham Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Latham Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Latham Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Latham Group in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Latham Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Latham Group Trading Up 3.8%

The company has a market cap of $879.52 million, a P/E ratio of 148.76, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.11 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $188.39 million. Latham Group had a return on equity of 1.32% and a net margin of 0.92%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Latham Group, Inc. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James E. Cline bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.84 per share, for a total transaction of $242,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,000. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Oliver C. Gloe bought 15,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.90 per share, with a total value of $73,745.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 540,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,649,714.20. This trade represents a 2.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Latham Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Latham Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 63,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Latham Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 35,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Latham Group by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 35,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Latham Group by 83.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Latham Group by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

About Latham Group

Latham Group, Inc designs, manufactures and supplies a broad range of aquatic products and services for residential and commercial applications. Offerings include fiberglass and vinyl-liner pool shells, commercial water park structures, water slides, surf simulators, pumps, filters, heaters and sanitation systems. The company also provides parts, equipment and technical support for pool installation, maintenance and repair.

Operating across three core segments—commercial, residential and aftermarket—Latham delivers turnkey aquatic facilities and attractions for municipal, hospitality and resort clients, offers packaged pool kits and equipment packages to builders and dealers, and supplies replacement parts, service contracts and technical assistance to support ongoing pool operations.

Headquartered in the United States, Latham Group maintains manufacturing and distribution centers throughout North America and Europe.