Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Trading Down 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)’s stock price was down 3.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $2.78 and last traded at $2.80. Approximately 3,043,071 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 4,283,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.96.

Leslie’s Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $490.01 million, a PE ratio of 131.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.99.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a net margin of 0.22%. The business had revenue of $569.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Leslie’s’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leslie’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in Leslie’s by 46.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 36,601,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,360,000 after buying an additional 11,618,490 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in Leslie’s by 93.8% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,516,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,545,000 after buying an additional 1,218,047 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Leslie’s by 1,300.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,187,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,977,000 after buying an additional 1,103,096 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Leslie’s by 477.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,110,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,653,000 after buying an additional 918,084 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in Leslie’s during the third quarter valued at $1,787,000.

Leslie’s Company Profile

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.