Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Hayward Stock Performance

Hayward stock opened at $14.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.90. Hayward has a 12-month low of $11.10 and a 12-month high of $17.73.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Hayward had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $349.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.73, for a total transaction of $824,078.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 748,540 shares in the company, valued at $11,774,534.20. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,168 shares of company stock valued at $2,502,639. Corporate insiders own 5.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HAYW. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Hayward by 10,452.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hayward by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Hayward by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Hayward by 103.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hayward during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000.

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.