Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $14.38, but opened at $15.62. Hayward shares last traded at $14.78, with a volume of 198,229 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. Hayward had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 9.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HAYW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Hayward from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Hayward from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.52, for a total transaction of $726,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 522,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,591,041.48. This represents a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hayward by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in Hayward by 2.3% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 33,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Hayward by 5.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Hayward by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Hayward by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 29,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter.

Hayward Price Performance

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’s 50-day moving average price is $14.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.07. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16.

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.