Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms “Hold” Rating for Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $15.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $16.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.96% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hayward from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Hayward from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hayward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.83.

Hayward Price Performance

Shares of HAYW traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 424,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,935,262. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Hayward has a one year low of $11.10 and a one year high of $17.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.67.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.84 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 13.51%.Hayward’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In other news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total transaction of $218,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,605,577. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.73, for a total transaction of $824,078.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 748,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,774,534.20. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,168 shares of company stock worth $2,721,189. 5.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Hayward by 10,452.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hayward by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Hayward by 82.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Hayward by 103.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Hayward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc is a leading manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial swimming pool equipment and related outdoor living products. The company designs, engineers and produces a comprehensive range of products that address water circulation, filtration, heating, sanitation, automation, lighting and cleaning needs for pools and spas. Hayward’s offerings include pumps, filters, heaters, salt and chemical sanitization systems, automation controls, lights, robotic cleaners and various accessories that serve both new pool construction and aftermarket renovation markets.

Hayward’s product portfolio is organized into several core categories.