Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $19.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hayward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hayward presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $19.25.

Hayward Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAYW traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,718,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,248,280. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Hayward has a 12-month low of $11.10 and a 12-month high of $17.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.90.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 13.51%.The firm had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Hayward’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.73, for a total transaction of $824,078.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 748,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,774,534.20. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,168 shares of company stock valued at $2,502,639. 5.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Hayward in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hayward by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,518,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,357,000 after purchasing an additional 313,571 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Hayward by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Hayward by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 71,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 30,718 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in shares of Hayward by 71.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 79,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 33,142 shares during the period.

About Hayward

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.