Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Earns Hold Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $16.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.07% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Hayward from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hayward currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.83.

Hayward Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HAYW opened at $13.51 on Tuesday. Hayward has a fifty-two week low of $11.10 and a fifty-two week high of $17.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.18. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.64.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 13.51%.The firm had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The company’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, research analysts anticipate that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total value of $218,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,605,577. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.73, for a total transaction of $824,078.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 748,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,774,534.20. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 172,168 shares of company stock worth $2,721,189 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAYW. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Hayward in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,846,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 250,214 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Hayward by 3.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,650,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,549,000 after buying an additional 211,075 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 84,067 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hayward by 14.2% in the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,999,000 after buying an additional 73,900 shares during the period.

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.