Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes $2.45 Million Position in Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 160,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,449,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hayward by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,305,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,352 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hayward by 385.5% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,433,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,942,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696,170 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hayward by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,109,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,282 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hayward by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,873,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,520,000 after buying an additional 392,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BBR Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hayward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,399,000.

Hayward Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAYW opened at $14.34 on Friday. Hayward Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.10 and a 1-year high of $16.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.30 and its 200-day moving average is $14.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. Hayward had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 9.47%. The company had revenue of $228.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.08 EPS. Hayward’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Hayward Holdings, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HAYW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research lowered Hayward from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hayward currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.13.

Insider Transactions at Hayward

In related news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.06, for a total transaction of $703,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 623,540 shares in the company, valued at $8,766,972.40. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.