Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Price Target to $1.55

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) had its target price cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $1.90 to $1.55 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $3.75 to $3.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leslie’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.28.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Leslie’s stock opened at $1.64 on Friday. Leslie’s has a 1 year low of $1.63 and a 1 year high of $8.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.65. The company has a market cap of $303.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.93 and a beta of 1.10.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Leslie’s had a negative net margin of 2.13% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%. Sell-side analysts predict that Leslie’s will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Leslie’s by 7.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Leslie’s by 121.3% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,569,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052,539 shares in the last quarter. Lind Value II ApS acquired a new stake in Leslie’s in the fourth quarter valued at $10,258,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,136,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,993,000 after purchasing an additional 258,686 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the third quarter worth $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.