Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) Short Interest Update

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, an increase of 28.4% from the November 30th total of 2,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 637,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 7.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SWIM. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Latham Group from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Latham Group from $7.70 to $8.80 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Latham Group from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on Latham Group in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Latham Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.65.

Insider Activity at Latham Group

In related news, CFO Oliver C. Gloe sold 10,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.44, for a total value of $65,791.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,820,626.64. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Sanjeev Bahl sold 11,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.90, for a total value of $69,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 262,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,584.90. This trade represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,157 shares of company stock valued at $320,189. 8.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Latham Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Latham Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $697,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Latham Group in the third quarter worth $438,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Latham Group by 294.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 40,860 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Latham Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 971,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,609,000 after buying an additional 20,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Latham Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $382,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Latham Group Stock Performance

Shares of SWIM traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.00. 417,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 468,136. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.64 and its 200 day moving average is $5.56. Latham Group has a 1-year low of $2.11 and a 1-year high of $8.41. The stock has a market cap of $809.38 million, a P/E ratio of 77.79 and a beta of 1.84.

Latham Group Company Profile

Latham Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers a portfolio of pools and related products, including in-ground swimming pools that include fiber glass and packaged pools; and pool covers and liners under the Latham, Narellan, CoverStar, Radiant, and GLI brand names.