Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Shares Acquired by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 24.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,830 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.06% of Leslie’s worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Leslie’s during the 4th quarter worth about $165,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Leslie’s by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 57,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Leslie’s by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 8,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearfield Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,928,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LESL. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $5.25 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.96.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Shares of Leslie’s stock opened at $2.86 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $528.36 million, a P/E ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.17. Leslie’s, Inc. has a one year low of $2.42 and a one year high of $8.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.22.

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

Leslie’s 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.