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

Shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.96.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LESL shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 36,601,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,360,000 after purchasing an additional 11,618,490 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Leslie’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,116,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,097,000 after buying an additional 492,416 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Leslie’s by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,320,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,581,000 after acquiring an additional 156,938 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Leslie’s by 12.4% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,519,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,375,000 after acquiring an additional 500,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 6.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,532,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,610,000 after acquiring an additional 146,215 shares during the last quarter.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

LESL opened at $2.90 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.35. Leslie’s has a 1-year low of $2.42 and a 1-year high of $8.21. The stock has a market cap of $535.75 million, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.17.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Leslie’s had a net margin of 0.22% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%. The business had revenue of $569.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Leslie’s’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Leslie’s will post 0.04 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.