Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $14.38, but opened at $15.62. Hayward shares last traded at $14.78, with a volume of 198,229 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $327.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.76 million. Hayward had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 9.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HAYW shares. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.52, for a total transaction of $726,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 522,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,591,041.48. This represents a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hayward by 2.2% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,041,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,152,000 after acquiring an additional 43,222 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hayward by 8.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,260,000 after buying an additional 165,369 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Hayward by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,355,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,810,000 after acquiring an additional 341,424 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Hayward by 7.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 668,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,253,000 after acquiring an additional 44,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MSD Capital L P acquired a new position in Hayward in the third quarter valued at approximately $418,901,000.

Hayward Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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.