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

Latham Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWIM) saw a significant 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 short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 7.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Latham Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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 boosted their target price on Latham Group from $7.70 to $8.80 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Latham Group from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.65.

Latham Group Stock Down 4.6 %

NASDAQ 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 50 day moving average of $6.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $809.38 million, a PE ratio of 77.79 and a beta of 1.84. Latham Group has a 12 month low of $2.11 and a 12 month high of $8.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Sanjeev Bahl sold 11,750 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 262,811 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,584.90. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Michael Rajeski sold 22,191 shares of Latham Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.34, for a total value of $185,072.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 480,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,113.86. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 44,157 shares of company stock worth $320,189. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Latham Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Latham Group in the third quarter worth $697,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of Latham Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $635,000. Roubaix Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Latham Group by 70.9% in the 3rd quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC now owns 761,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,178,000 after buying an additional 315,889 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Latham Group by 103.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 213,128 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Latham Group by 75.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 3,123 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.