Stifel Nicolaus Upgrades Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) to Buy

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) was upgraded by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $16.50 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.83% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Hayward from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Hayward from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Hayward Stock Down 0.6 %

HAYW opened at $14.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.00. Hayward has a 1 year low of $11.96 and a 1 year high of $16.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.62. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.11, for a total transaction of $1,208,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,170,927.33. This represents a 22.46 % 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, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.96, for a total value of $1,596,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 225,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,530,250 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hayward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hayward by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,041,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,152,000 after buying an additional 43,222 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hayward by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,260,000 after buying an additional 165,369 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Hayward by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,355,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,810,000 after acquiring an additional 341,424 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Hayward by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 668,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,253,000 after acquiring an additional 44,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MSD Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Hayward during the 3rd quarter worth $418,901,000.

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.