Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Receives “Peer Perform” Rating from Wolfe Research

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)‘s stock had its “peer perform” rating restated by analysts at Wolfe Research in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Hayward Price Performance

NYSE HAYW opened at $12.86 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.74 and its 200 day moving average is $14.68. Hayward has a fifty-two week low of $12.84 and a fifty-two week high of $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 3.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $318.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.35 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 13.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hayward will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.28, for a total value of $2,073,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 701,234 shares in the company, valued at $12,117,323.52. The trade was a 14.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 270,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,385,100. Company insiders own 4.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Hayward during the second quarter worth approximately $422,455,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its stake in shares of Hayward by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 9,089,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063,380 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,453,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,726,000 after purchasing an additional 761,145 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Hayward by 1,584.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,173,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Hayward by 1.9% during 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.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc designs, manufactures and sells equipment and systems used in residential and commercial swimming pools. Its product portfolio includes pumps, filters, heaters, heat pumps, automatic cleaners, lighting, salt chlorination systems and pool automation and controls.

The company’s products are intended to help pool owners and professionals circulate, filter, heat, sanitize and manage pool water. Hayward sells through distributors, retailers, pool builders and service professionals, serving customers primarily in North America as well as selected international markets.

Hayward’s business traces its history to 1925 and has developed from a pool-equipment manufacturer into a provider of connected and energy-efficient pool solutions.