Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on HAYW. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hayward from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Hayward in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.62.

Hayward Stock Performance

HAYW opened at $12.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Hayward has a 1 year low of $11.24 and a 1 year high of $17.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.28.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $318.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.35 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 13.83%. Hayward’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hayward will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total value of $620,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 401,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,975,301.60. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Susan Canning sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.70, for a total value of $40,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 164,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,608.70. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 157,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,163,890 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hayward

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HAYW. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Hayward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $422,455,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Hayward by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,453,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,726,000 after purchasing an additional 761,145 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hayward by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,798,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,209,000 after purchasing an additional 90,733 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. bought a new position in shares of Hayward in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,607,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Hayward by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,975,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,811,000 after purchasing an additional 605,743 shares during the last quarter.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc designs, manufactures and markets equipment and technologies used in residential and commercial swimming pools. Its product portfolio includes pumps, filters, heaters, heat pumps, automatic pool cleaners, lighting, sanitization systems, water features and pool-control and automation solutions.

The company sells products under the Hayward brand and serves pool owners, builders, retailers, distributors and service professionals. Its equipment is used in both new pool construction and the replacement and renovation market, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, water quality and connected pool-management technologies.

Hayward traces its roots to 1925 and has developed into a global pool-equipment supplier.