Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 13,718 Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 13,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LESL. Clearfield Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the fourth quarter worth about $4,928,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Leslie’s by 12.4% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,519,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,375,000 after purchasing an additional 500,292 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 492,416 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Leslie’s by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,096,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,785,000 after purchasing an additional 410,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jade Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Leslie’s by 267.6% in the 4th quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC now owns 367,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 267,600 shares during the period.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ LESL opened at $2.85 on Tuesday. Leslie’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $8.21. The stock has a market cap of $526.52 million, a P/E ratio of 35.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.52.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LESL. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $5.25 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on 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 issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.