Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

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

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Hayward from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.25.

Hayward Stock Performance

HAYW opened at $14.85 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.90. 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 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.13.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.84 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 13.51%.The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 52,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.99, for a total transaction of $837,716.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 623,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,970,404.60. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 157,168 shares of company stock worth $2,502,639 in the last 90 days. 5.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Hayward by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,683,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,656,000 after buying an additional 2,627,348 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 327,101.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,565,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,633,000 after buying an additional 2,564,479 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 17,180.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,576,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,811,000 after buying an additional 2,561,826 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hayward in the third quarter valued at about $37,846,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hayward in the third quarter valued at about $30,402,000.

About Hayward

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.