Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 625,292 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the previous session’s volume of 543,161 shares.The stock last traded at $6.61 and had previously closed at $6.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SWIM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Latham Group from $7.70 to $8.80 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $8.50 price objective on shares of Latham Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Latham Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.66.

Latham Group Stock Down 6.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $759.03 million, a PE ratio of 72.90 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.78 and its 200-day moving average is $6.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Latham Group news, major shareholder Wc Partners Executive Iv, L.P. sold 105,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.54, for a total transaction of $688,335.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 332,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,176,629.72. This trade represents a 24.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Latham Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SWIM. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Latham Group by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP lifted its holdings in shares of Latham Group by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 25,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Latham Group by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Latham Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 64,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Latham Group by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 3,123 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

About Latham Group

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.