Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 99.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,667,219 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Leslie’s were worth $50,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of Leslie’s by 1.7% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 160,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 82,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Leslie’s by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 63,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947 shares during the last quarter.

Leslie’s Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of LESL opened at $2.90 on Friday. The firm 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.46. Leslie’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $569.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.99 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a net margin of 0.22%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LESL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $5.25 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.96.

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.