Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) Short Interest Down 20.5% in November

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,630,000 shares, a drop of 20.5% from the October 31st total of 10,850,000 shares. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Hayward Stock Performance

NYSE:HAYW traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,038,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,539,017. Hayward has a 12-month low of $11.55 and a 12-month 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $227.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $222.88 million. Hayward had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hayward will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Hayward from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Hayward from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Hayward from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Insider Activity at Hayward

In other Hayward news, CFO Eifion Jones sold 75,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,170,927.33. This trade represents a 22.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 100,000 shares of Hayward stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.96, for a total transaction of $1,596,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 522,799 shares in the company, valued at $8,343,872.04. This represents a 16.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 217,857 shares of company stock valued at $3,416,677. 3.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HAYW. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Hayward during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hayward in the third quarter worth about $308,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Hayward in the third quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Hayward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $260,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hayward by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,232,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,260,000 after purchasing an additional 165,369 shares in the last quarter.

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.