Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LESL. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3.00 target price (up from $2.00) on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Leslie’s from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.85.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Leslie’s stock opened at $0.60 on Friday. Leslie’s has a 1-year low of $0.58 and a 1-year high of $12.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.86. The company has a market cap of $5.63 million, a P/E ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 1.75.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.86 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $458.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $503.22 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Leslie’s will post -2.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Leslie’s by 61.3% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,570,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356,700 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Leslie’s by 923.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,254,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,647 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 87.1% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,016,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 473,148 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 2,643.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 407,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 393,043 shares during the period.

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.