Analyzing Hayward (HAYW) & Its Peers

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) is one of 93 public companies in the “Building Products” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Hayward to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Hayward and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hayward	14.35%	11.95%	6.11%
Hayward Competitors	3.69%	-26.96%	5.10%

Risk & Volatility

Hayward has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hayward’s competitors have a beta of 1.07, suggesting that their average stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hayward and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hayward	$1.12 billion	$151.57 million	20.82
Hayward Competitors	$4.00 billion	$4.65 billion	36.47

Hayward’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Hayward. Hayward is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

63.6% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Hayward shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of shares of all “Building Products” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Hayward and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hayward	1	6	2	0	2.11
Hayward Competitors	740	3935	5067	239	2.48

Hayward presently has a consensus price target of $17.12, suggesting a potential upside of 5.47%. As a group, “Building Products” companies have a potential upside of 30.37%. Given Hayward’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hayward has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

Hayward competitors beat Hayward on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of pool equipment and associated automation systems in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers pool equipment, including pumps, filters, robotics, suction and pressure cleaners, gas heaters and heat pumps, water features and landscape lighting, water sanitizers, salt chlorine generators, safety equipment, and in-floor automated cleaning systems, as well as LED illumination solutions. It sells its products through specialty distributors, retailers, and buying groups. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.