Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 102,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SWIM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Latham Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 177,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Latham Group by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 151,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 32,410 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Latham Group by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 213,128 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 234,930 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Latham Group by 11.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 690,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 69,356 shares during the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Sanjeev Bahl sold 11,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.90, for a total transaction of $69,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 262,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,550,584.90. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Oliver C. Gloe sold 10,216 shares of Latham Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.44, for a total value of $65,791.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,706 shares in the company, valued at $1,820,626.64. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,157 shares of company stock worth $320,189. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Latham Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:SWIM opened at $6.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.67. Latham Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.11 and a 52-week high of $8.41. The firm has a market cap of $759.66 million, a P/E ratio of 73.01 and a beta of 1.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Latham Group Company Profile

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.