Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.70, but opened at $6.97. Latham Group shares last traded at $6.76, with a volume of 524,298 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWIM has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Latham Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Latham Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Latham Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Latham Group from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Latham Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Latham Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.50.

Latham Group Trading Up 25.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $840.66 million, a P/E ratio of 102.29, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.94.

Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $197.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.39 million. Latham Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 2.13%. As a group, analysts forecast that Latham Group, Inc. will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Latham Group

In related news, CFO Oliver C. Gloe bought 15,050 shares of Latham Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.90 per share, for a total transaction of $73,745.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 540,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,649,714.20. This represents a 2.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James E. Cline bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.84 per share, with a total value of $242,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $484,000. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Latham Group by 216.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,749,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,858,000 after purchasing an additional 4,616,367 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Latham Group by 206.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 4,620,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,159,000 after buying an additional 3,112,708 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Latham Group by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,370,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,096,000 after buying an additional 470,123 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Latham Group by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,257,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,788,000 after buying an additional 873,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Latham Group by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,116,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,882,000 after buying an additional 709,368 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Latham Group Company Profile

Latham Group, Inc designs, manufactures and supplies a broad range of aquatic products and services for residential and commercial applications. Offerings include fiberglass and vinyl-liner pool shells, commercial water park structures, water slides, surf simulators, pumps, filters, heaters and sanitation systems. The company also provides parts, equipment and technical support for pool installation, maintenance and repair.

Operating across three core segments—commercial, residential and aftermarket—Latham delivers turnkey aquatic facilities and attractions for municipal, hospitality and resort clients, offers packaged pool kits and equipment packages to builders and dealers, and supplies replacement parts, service contracts and technical assistance to support ongoing pool operations.

Headquartered in the United States, Latham Group maintains manufacturing and distribution centers throughout North America and Europe.