Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Holdings in Hayward Holdings, Inc. $HAYW

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,263,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,287 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Hayward were worth $34,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hayward in the third quarter valued at about $37,846,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hayward by 35.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 956,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,460,000 after buying an additional 250,214 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Hayward by 3.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,650,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,549,000 after buying an additional 211,075 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Hayward by 23.5% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 441,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,670,000 after buying an additional 84,067 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hayward by 14.2% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,999,000 after buying an additional 73,900 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAYW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Hayward from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hayward from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Hayward in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Hayward in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.57, for a total transaction of $218,550.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,605,577. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 52,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total transaction of $703,060.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 701,234 shares in the company, valued at $9,410,560.28. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 172,167 shares of company stock worth $2,586,533 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.73% of the company’s stock.

Hayward Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of HAYW opened at $14.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.18. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.39 and a 1 year high of $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.57.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.84 million. Hayward had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Hayward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hayward Profile

Hayward Holdings, Inc is a leading manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial swimming pool equipment and related outdoor living products. The company designs, engineers and produces a comprehensive range of products that address water circulation, filtration, heating, sanitation, automation, lighting and cleaning needs for pools and spas. Hayward’s offerings include pumps, filters, heaters, salt and chemical sanitization systems, automation controls, lights, robotic cleaners and various accessories that serve both new pool construction and aftermarket renovation markets.

Hayward’s product portfolio is organized into several core categories.