William Blair Has Bullish Forecast for Hayward Q4 Earnings

Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) – William Blair raised their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Hayward in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 10th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the company will earn $0.27 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.26. The consensus estimate for Hayward’s current full-year earnings is $0.60 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Hayward’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.26 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.13 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Hayward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Hayward in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Hayward from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Hayward from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.13.

Hayward Stock Performance

HAYW stock opened at $12.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.88. Hayward has a 1-year low of $11.10 and a 1-year high of $16.87.

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $327.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.76 million. Hayward had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 9.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hayward

In other Hayward news, CEO Kevin Holleran sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.52, for a total transaction of $626,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 623,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,806,720.80. This represents a 7.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hayward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Hayward by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Hayward by 98.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Hayward by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 2,283 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hayward by 61.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in Hayward during the 1st quarter worth $142,000.

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.