Eifion Jones Sells 15,000 Shares of Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Stock

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total transaction of $218,550.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,605,577. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hayward Trading Down 0.4%

HAYW traded down $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.71. 1,484,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,987,946. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.13. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.10 and a 12-month high of $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.14 and a 200 day moving average of $15.90.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.84 million. Hayward had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hayward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,683,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,656,000 after buying an additional 2,627,348 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Hayward by 327,101.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,565,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,564,479 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Hayward by 17,180.8% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,576,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,811,000 after acquiring an additional 2,561,826 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Hayward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,846,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hayward during the third quarter worth about $30,402,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on HAYW shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.50 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Hayward from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

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.