Hayward Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HAYW)

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 4,000 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 264% compared to the average volume of 1,098 put options.

Hayward Price Performance

NYSE HAYW opened at $13.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.26. Hayward has a 12-month low of $11.10 and a 12-month high of $16.87.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $228.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.37 million. Hayward had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hayward will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on HAYW. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Hayward from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.13.

Insider Transactions at Hayward

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.06, for a total transaction of $703,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 623,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,766,972.40. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hayward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAYW. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Hayward by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hayward by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 8,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hayward by 51.1% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in Hayward in the first quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hayward in the first quarter worth $150,000.

Hayward Company Profile

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.