Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) Trading 4.5% Higher After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) shot up 4.5% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $16.41 and last traded at $16.38. 147,446 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 1,429,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.67.

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 net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $227.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $222.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HAYW. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hayward from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Hayward from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Hayward from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hayward presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.80.

Insider Transactions at Hayward

In other news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 42,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.29, for a total value of $612,426.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 522,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,470,797.71. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hayward in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Hayward by 2,710.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,141 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hayward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hayward by 217.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 5,420 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Hayward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $171,000.

Hayward Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.21.

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.