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

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on HAYW. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Hayward from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hayward from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Hayward in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hayward presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.62.

Hayward Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:HAYW opened at $12.09 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.17 and its 200-day moving average is $14.28. Hayward has a 52 week low of $11.24 and a 52 week high of $17.73.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 13.83%. The business had revenue of $318.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.840-0.870 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hayward will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.40, for a total transaction of $620,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 401,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,975,301.60. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Susan Canning sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.70, for a total value of $40,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 164,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,608.70. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 157,000 shares of company stock worth $2,163,890 in the last ninety days. 4.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAYW. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 112,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Hayward by 33.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hayward by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. raised its position in Hayward by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Hayward by 11.1% in the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter.

Hayward Company Profile

Hayward Holdings, Inc designs, manufactures and markets equipment and technologies used in residential and commercial swimming pools. Its product portfolio includes pumps, filters, heaters, heat pumps, automatic pool cleaners, lighting, sanitization systems, water features and pool-control and automation solutions.

The company sells products under the Hayward brand and serves pool owners, builders, retailers, distributors and service professionals. Its equipment is used in both new pool construction and the replacement and renovation market, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, water quality and connected pool-management technologies.

Hayward traces its roots to 1925 and has developed into a global pool-equipment supplier.