Hayward Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:HAYW)

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 4,000 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 703% compared to the typical daily volume of 498 call options.

Hayward Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HAYW traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.98. 149,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,588,374. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Hayward has a twelve month low of $11.96 and a twelve month high of $16.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $327.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.76 million. Hayward had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 9.93%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hayward will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HAYW has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.52, for a total transaction of $726,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 522,799 shares in the company, valued at $7,591,041.48. The trade was a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MSD Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Hayward in the 3rd quarter valued at $418,901,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Hayward by 385.5% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,433,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,942,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696,170 shares during the period. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation lifted its stake in Hayward by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation now owns 8,984,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400,000 shares in the last quarter. BBR Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hayward in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,399,000. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI purchased a new stake in Hayward during the fourth quarter worth about $62,949,000.

About Hayward

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.