Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Purchases 258,700 Shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) by 81.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 576,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 258,700 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Hayward worth $8,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Hayward by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Hayward by 98.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Hayward by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hayward by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 3,268 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hayward by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 2,062 shares during the period.

Hayward Stock Performance

HAYW stock opened at $14.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.10 and a 12-month high of $16.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.61.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $228.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on HAYW shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research cut Hayward from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total value of $626,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 623,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,806,720.80. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.06% of the company’s stock.

Hayward 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.