Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LESL. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Leslie’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Mizuho set a $5.00 target price on Leslie’s in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $3.50 price objective on Leslie’s in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $23.81.

Leslie’s Price Performance

LESL stock opened at $1.67 on Friday. Leslie’s has a one year low of $1.60 and a one year high of $48.60. The stock has a market cap of $15.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.93.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Leslie’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $320,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 17,757.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 81,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 80,796 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Leslie’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Leslie’s by 701.5% during the first quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,373,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in Leslie’s by 15.1% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 58,177,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,789,000 after purchasing an additional 7,649,626 shares during the last quarter.

Leslie’s Company Profile

Leslie’s, Inc (NASDAQ: LESL) is the largest direct-to-consumer retailer of swimming pool supplies and related equipment in the United States. Through a network of more than 900 company-operated stores and a robust e-commerce platform, the company offers a comprehensive range of pool chemicals, cleaning tools, pumps, filters, heaters and pool accessories. In addition to product retailing, Leslie’s provides in-store and in-home water testing services, equipment installation, repair and ongoing maintenance programs designed to support both residential and commercial pool owners.

Founded in 1963 in North Miami Beach, Florida, Leslie’s has grown from a single neighborhood pool-supply shop into a national specialty retailer.