Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.37.

A number of research firms have commented on LESL. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of Leslie's in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Leslie's in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Leslie's from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Leslie's from $5.40 to $6.30 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Leslie's in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock.

Leslie's Price Performance

Shares of LESL remained flat at $3.99 on Friday. 6,369,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,766,345. Leslie's has a one year low of $3.88 and a one year high of $11.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.19 million, a PE ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $6.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.18.

Leslie's (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $173.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.17 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Leslie's will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leslie's

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in Leslie's by 50.6% in the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 24,987,417 shares of the company's stock worth $141,429,000 after purchasing an additional 8,398,488 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Leslie's by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,116,849 shares of the company's stock worth $132,097,000 after purchasing an additional 492,416 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Leslie's by 55.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Leslie's by 66.7% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,862,297 shares of the company's stock worth $89,781,000 after purchasing an additional 6,346,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Leslie's by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,018,954 shares of the company's stock worth $27,771,000 after buying an additional 845,615 shares during the period.

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.