Bfsg LLC Boosts Position in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 134.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 48,590 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,840 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Leslie’s were worth $154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in Leslie’s by 46.5% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 36,601,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,360,000 after acquiring an additional 11,618,490 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in Leslie’s by 93.8% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,516,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,047 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Leslie’s by 1,300.5% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,187,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,096 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Leslie’s by 477.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,110,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,653,000 after acquiring an additional 918,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Leslie’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,787,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LESL. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $5.25 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leslie’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.96.

Leslie’s Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LESL opened at $2.63 on Friday. Leslie’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.42 and a fifty-two week high of $8.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.85. The stock has a market cap of $485.87 million, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.17.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $569.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.99 million. Leslie’s had a net margin of 0.22% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%. The company’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.