Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $11.70 and last traded at $11.70, with a volume of 872369 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Hayward from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hayward has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.13.

Hayward Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. Hayward had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 9.47%. The company had revenue of $327.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.76 million. Equities research analysts predict that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.52, for a total value of $726,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 522,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,591,041.48. This trade represents a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hayward by 385.5% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,433,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,942,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696,170 shares during the last quarter. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation lifted its position in Hayward by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. Michael & Susan Dell Foundation now owns 8,984,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,373,000 after buying an additional 6,400,000 shares in the last quarter. BBR Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hayward during the fourth quarter worth $67,399,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI purchased a new stake in Hayward in the 4th quarter valued at $62,949,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hayward by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,305,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,352 shares during the last quarter.

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.