Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $47.58 Million Stock Position in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,320,338 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 156,938 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 3.96% of Leslie’s worth $47,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Leslie’s by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,858,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,845,000 after purchasing an additional 201,082 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Leslie’s by 12.4% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,519,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,375,000 after purchasing an additional 500,292 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Leslie’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,116,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,097,000 after purchasing an additional 492,416 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Leslie’s by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,633,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,201,000 after purchasing an additional 404,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Leslie’s in the first quarter valued at about $100,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LESL. Mizuho dropped their price target on Leslie’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Loop Capital dropped their price target 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.18.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LESL traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.93. 3,098,358 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,056,977. The stock has a market capitalization of $541.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $4.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.57. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.18). The company had revenue of $188.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.69 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 1.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

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.