Hayward Holdings, Inc. (HAYW) stock analysis

P/E below its 5-year median

Hayward's P/E of 21.1 is below its own 5-year median of 26.8.

P/E below the industry

Hayward's P/E of 21.1 is below the Refrigeration and Service Industry Machinery median of 27.7.

EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median

Hayward's EV/EBITDA of 15.3 is below its 5-year median of 18.0.

P/B below the industry

Hayward's price-to-book of 2.16 is below the Refrigeration and Service Industry Machinery median of 3.63.

Trading below fair value

The share price of $16.45 is below our fair value estimate of $18.19.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 9.6% below fair value, less than the 20% cushion we look for.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew -5.1% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew -4.5% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew 23.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 28.5% a year.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew 7.6% over the last twelve months; the Refrigeration and Service Industry Machinery median is 7.8%.

Guidance raised

Hayward raised its Fiscal Year 2026 net sales outlook on Oct 28, 2026.

Gross margin improving

Gross margin was 48.0% over the last twelve months, against 47.5% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 10.9% over the last twelve months and averaged 12.9% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 10.3%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Hayward's return on equity of 10.9% is above the Refrigeration and Service Industry Machinery median of 3.1%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 28.5% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin above its 5-year average

Net margin was 14.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 12.2%.

Net margin above the industry

Hayward's net margin of 14.4% is above the Refrigeration and Service Industry Machinery median of 5.3%.

High debt

Debt is 60.2% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt falling against equity

Debt to equity fell from 623% five years ago to 60.2%.

Debt covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 20.8% of total debt.

Interest coverage

Interest expense is not reported separately.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 3.33 times current liabilities.

Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone

The Altman Z-score is 2.70; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

No dividend

Hayward has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.

Yield against Treasuries

No dividend.

Yield against the market

No dividend.

Dividend stability

No dividend.

Earnings cover

No dividend.

Cash-flow cover

No dividend.