Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Trading Up 5.5% – Here’s Why

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Free Report) were up 5.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $2.90 and last traded at $2.89. Approximately 2,665,509 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 4,277,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LESL shares. 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $5.25 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.96.

View Our Latest Research Report on Leslie’s

Leslie’s Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.93 and a 200-day moving average of $4.00. The firm has a market cap of $484.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.17.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Leslie’s’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Leslie’s

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 8,980 shares in the last quarter. Clearfield Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Leslie’s in the 4th quarter valued at $4,928,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the 4th quarter valued at $259,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,116,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,097,000 after acquiring an additional 492,416 shares during the period. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the 1st quarter worth $132,000.

About Leslie’s

(Get Free Report)

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.

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