Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 873,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,586 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Leslie’s worth $2,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LESL. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 46.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 36,601,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,360,000 after acquiring an additional 11,618,490 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,052,539 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Leslie’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,470,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Leslie’s by 1,300.5% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,187,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 477.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,110,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,653,000 after buying an additional 918,084 shares during the last quarter.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Shares of LESL opened at $2.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $2.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.94. The company has a market capitalization of $425.43 million, a P/E ratio of -19.17 and a beta of 1.12. Leslie’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.02 and a fifty-two week high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.09). Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a negative net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $397.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.19 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LESL shares. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.61.

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.