Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, a growth of 21.4% from the October 15th total of 1,400,000 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 571,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other Latham Group news, COO Sanjeev Bahl sold 11,750 shares of Latham Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Oliver C. Gloe sold 10,216 shares of Latham Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.44, for a total transaction of $65,791.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,820,626.64. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,817 shares of company stock worth $304,182 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Latham Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Latham Group by 75.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 3,123 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Latham Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 197,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 3,161 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Latham Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 177,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Latham Group by 69.2% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 10,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 4,484 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Latham Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 333,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after buying an additional 7,502 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Latham Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of SWIM traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.72. 708,366 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,003. Latham Group has a 52 week low of $2.11 and a 52 week high of $7.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.85. The company has a market cap of $660.80 million, a PE ratio of 63.50 and a beta of 1.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SWIM shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Latham Group from $6.80 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Latham Group from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Latham Group from $3.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Latham Group from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Latham Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.62.

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.