Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.61.

LESL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leslie’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LESL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Leslie’s by 142.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 586,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 344,873 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in Leslie’s by 205.3% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 48,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 32,611 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Leslie’s by 125.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 399,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 221,809 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 1,219.6% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 336,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 311,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,470,000.

Leslie’s Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of LESL stock opened at $2.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $412.48 million, a P/E ratio of -18.58 and a beta of 1.12. Leslie’s has a 12-month low of $2.02 and a 12-month high of $8.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.97.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $397.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.19 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a negative net margin of 1.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Leslie’s will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

About Leslie’s

Leslie’s, Inc operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products.