Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.20, but opened at $14.70. Hayward shares last traded at $14.99, with a volume of 171,519 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HAYW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Hayward from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Hayward from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Hayward from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.80.

Hayward Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day moving average of $14.66. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.17. 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 (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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $227.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $222.88 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hayward news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.11, for a total value of $1,208,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,170,927.33. This trade represents a 22.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.96, for a total value of $1,596,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 522,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,343,872.04. The trade was a 16.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hayward

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Hayward by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 860,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,582,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Hayward by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Hayward by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 20,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hayward by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,090,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,616,000 after buying an additional 222,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Hayward by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 41,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter.

About Hayward

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.