Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Earns “Market Perform” Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $6.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a neutral rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Leslie’s from $5.40 to $6.30 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $6.37.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

LESL stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.79. 4,524,724 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,178,548. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.14. Leslie’s has a 1-year low of $3.79 and a 1-year high of $11.68. The company has a market cap of $883.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.06.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.01. Leslie’s had a net margin of 1.25% and a negative return on equity of 15.00%. The firm had revenue of $173.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.17 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Leslie’s will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Leslie’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LESL. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 24,987,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,429,000 after buying an additional 8,398,488 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,862,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,781,000 after purchasing an additional 6,346,377 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Leslie’s by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 17,115,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,876,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078,768 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Leslie’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,423,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Leslie’s by 136.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 2,230,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,415,000 after buying an additional 1,288,013 shares in the last quarter.

Leslie’s Company 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.