Mizuho Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Stock Price

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Mizuho from $4.00 to $3.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s target price points to a potential upside of 35.14% from the company’s previous close.

LESL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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 reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Leslie’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.49.

Leslie’s Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of Leslie’s stock opened at $2.22 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.50 and a beta of 1.11. Leslie’s has a 12-month low of $2.02 and a 12-month high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $397.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.19 million. Leslie’s had a negative net margin of 1.76% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%. Leslie’s’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Leslie’s will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leslie’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LESL. Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Leslie’s by 46.5% in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Leslie’s by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,406,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,564,000 after acquiring an additional 601,177 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Leslie’s by 121.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,569,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052,539 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Leslie’s by 13.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,877,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,093,000 after acquiring an additional 345,064 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Leslie’s during the third quarter valued at $6,470,000.

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.