Hayward’s (HAYW) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated their buy rating on shares of Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a $19.50 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $19.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Hayward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.75.

Hayward Trading Up 5.4%

NYSE:HAYW opened at $15.80 on Thursday. Hayward has a 1 year low of $11.10 and a 1 year high of $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 1.40 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Hayward had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 60,571 shares of the company’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 value of $977,010.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 623,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,057,700.20. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,350 shares of company stock worth $2,655,570. Insiders own 5.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hayward

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HAYW. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hayward by 35.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 956,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,460,000 after acquiring an additional 250,214 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hayward during the 2nd quarter valued at $330,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hayward by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,999,000 after purchasing an additional 73,900 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Hayward by 23.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 441,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,670,000 after purchasing an additional 84,067 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Hayward by 17.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,056,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,482 shares during the period.

More Hayward News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hayward this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings and revenue beat Street expectations: Hayward reported quarterly EPS above consensus and revenue outperformed estimates, driven by solid demand and margin performance — a key catalyst for the stock. Hayward Holdings, Inc. (HAYW) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2026 guidance (EPS 0.820–0.860 vs. Street ~0.800; revenue guidance ~ $1.2B vs. ~ $1.1B consensus), reinforcing the beat as sustainable and supporting forward estimates. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed its buy rating and raised its price target to $19.50, implying meaningful upside from current levels — a supportive analyst signal for investor demand. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript and presentation are available for details on drivers (channel demand, margins, and working capital); useful for modeling but mainly confirm the points above. Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Q4 Results – Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage highlights “strong demand” as the proximate reason for the beat; useful color but already reflected in results and guidance. Hayward beats fourth quarter estimates on strong demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Irrelevant local news (sports) surfaced in feeds and does not affect fundamentals. Local sports item

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.