WCM Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW)

WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,129,882 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 214,991 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hayward were worth $29,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hayward by 56.8% in the second quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Hayward in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Hayward by 918.8% in the third quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 3,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hayward during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Hayward by 44.7% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 61,429 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.14, for a total value of $930,035.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 522,799 shares in the company, valued at $7,915,176.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HAYW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Hayward from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Hayward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Hayward from $13.50 to $14.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, TheStreet raised Hayward from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hayward presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.70.

Hayward Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE HAYW traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 962,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,108,962. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 3.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51 and a beta of 1.22. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.80 and a 12 month high of $16.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.00.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. Hayward had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The business had revenue of $278.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $271.47 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. Hayward’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.