Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $4.89, but opened at $5.23. Latham Group shares last traded at $5.0090, with a volume of 183,694 shares.

Specifically, Director James E. Cline acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.84 per share, for a total transaction of $242,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SWIM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Latham Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut Latham Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Latham Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Latham Group from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Latham Group from $8.75 to $9.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Latham Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Latham Group Trading Up 2.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $588.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.64 and its 200 day moving average is $6.29.

Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.02). Latham Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 2.13%. The company had revenue of $117.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.39 million. Equities analysts forecast that Latham Group, Inc. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Latham Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SWIM. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Latham Group by 83.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Latham Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Latham Group during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Latham Group by 153.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Latham Group during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Latham Group Company Profile

Latham Group, Inc designs, manufactures and supplies a broad range of aquatic products and services for residential and commercial applications. Offerings include fiberglass and vinyl-liner pool shells, commercial water park structures, water slides, surf simulators, pumps, filters, heaters and sanitation systems. The company also provides parts, equipment and technical support for pool installation, maintenance and repair.

Operating across three core segments—commercial, residential and aftermarket—Latham delivers turnkey aquatic facilities and attractions for municipal, hospitality and resort clients, offers packaged pool kits and equipment packages to builders and dealers, and supplies replacement parts, service contracts and technical assistance to support ongoing pool operations.

Headquartered in the United States, Latham Group maintains manufacturing and distribution centers throughout North America and Europe.