Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Sells 396,291 Shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. $HAYW

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) by 84.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 396,291 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Hayward were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Hayward by 28.9% during the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hayward by 51.1% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,241 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hayward during the first quarter worth about $150,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hayward during the first quarter worth about $153,000. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new stake in Hayward during the second quarter worth about $153,000.

Insider Transactions at Hayward

In related news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 287,231 shares in the company, valued at $4,739,311.50. The trade was a 6.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 60,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.27, for a total value of $924,919.17. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 623,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,521,455.80. This represents a 8.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,142 shares of company stock worth $2,405,676. 5.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HAYW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Hayward from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

Hayward Stock Down 2.8%

HAYW opened at $14.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.10 and a 12 month high of $16.87.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.02. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 12.04%.The company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $291.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. Hayward’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Hayward has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Hayward Company Profile

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.