The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Stock

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $14.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.57% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on HAYW. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Hayward from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Hayward from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hayward presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.80.

Hayward Stock Down 2.1 %

Hayward stock opened at $16.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Hayward has a twelve month low of $9.80 and a twelve month high of $16.85.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Hayward had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $227.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $222.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hayward will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 42,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.29, for a total value of $612,426.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 522,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,470,797.71. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HAYW. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Hayward by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 668,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,253,000 after buying an additional 44,978 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hayward in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Hayward by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 81,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 6,596 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Hayward in the 3rd quarter worth $426,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Hayward by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 68,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter.

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.