Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, an increase of 28.4% from the November 30th total of 2,360,000 shares. Currently, 7.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 637,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Latham Group from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Latham Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Latham Group from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Latham Group from $7.70 to $8.80 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Latham Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.65.

Insider Activity at Latham Group

In other Latham Group news, CFO Oliver C. Gloe sold 10,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.44, for a total transaction of $65,791.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,820,626.64. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Michael Rajeski sold 22,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.34, for a total transaction of $185,072.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 480,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,113.86. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,157 shares of company stock worth $320,189 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Latham Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWIM. Roubaix Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Latham Group by 70.9% during the 3rd quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC now owns 761,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,178,000 after acquiring an additional 315,889 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Latham Group by 21.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,342,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 234,930 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Latham Group by 103.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 213,128 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Latham Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $697,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of Latham Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $635,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Latham Group Price Performance

SWIM stock opened at $6.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $787.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.68 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Latham Group has a 52-week low of $2.11 and a 52-week high of $8.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.56.

About Latham Group

Latham Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers a portfolio of pools and related products, including in-ground swimming pools that include fiber glass and packaged pools; and pool covers and liners under the Latham, Narellan, CoverStar, Radiant, and GLI brand names.