Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.50.

A number of brokerages have commented on HAYW. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hayward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $16.00) on shares of Hayward in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hayward from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.28, for a total value of $2,073,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 701,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,117,323.52. This trade represents a 14.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Susan M. Canning purchased 2,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.76 per share, for a total transaction of $28,607.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president owned 103,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,324,960.12. This represents a 2.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 222,389 shares of company stock valued at $3,649,544. Company insiders own 4.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hayward

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Hayward by 327,101.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,565,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564,479 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in 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. purchased a new stake in Hayward during the third quarter worth about $37,846,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hayward by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,191,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,751,000 after buying an additional 1,678,955 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Hayward by 499.7% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,947,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,441,000 after buying an additional 1,622,458 shares during the period.

Hayward Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:HAYW opened at $15.95 on Monday. Hayward has a 12-month low of $12.93 and a 12-month high of $17.73. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.07.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 13.98%.The firm had revenue of $255.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hayward will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

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.