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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Latham Group

In other news, COO Sanjeev Bahl sold 11,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 262,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,584.90. This represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Oliver C. Gloe sold 10,216 shares of Latham Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,706 shares in the company, valued at $1,820,626.64. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,157 shares of company stock valued at $320,189 over the last three months. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Latham Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $697,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Latham Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $635,000. Roubaix Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Latham Group by 70.9% during the 3rd quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC now owns 761,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,178,000 after purchasing an additional 315,889 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Latham Group by 75.9% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Latham Group by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 418,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 213,128 shares during the period. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Latham Group Stock Performance

Shares of SWIM opened at $6.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $787.41 million, a PE ratio of 75.68 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $6.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Latham Group has a 12-month low of $2.11 and a 12-month high of $8.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Latham Group from $7.70 to $8.80 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Latham Group from $5.50 to $7.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Latham Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective for the company. Two equities 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.65.

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.