Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Shares Up 7.1%

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) shares traded up 7.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $2.91 and last traded at $2.87. 1,628,874 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 4,042,703 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LESL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Leslie’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Leslie’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.18.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $526.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.50.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.18). The company had revenue of $188.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.69 million. Leslie’s had a net margin of 1.06% and a negative return on equity of 12.55%. Analysts forecast that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Leslie’s by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Leslie’s by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 160,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 20,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 3,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 4.1% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 82,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter.

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.