State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Position in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Posted by MarketBeat News on Aug 2nd, 2022

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Rating) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,595 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.07% of Leslie’s worth $2,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 10,975,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,672,000 after buying an additional 3,262,915 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 9,652,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,370,000 after buying an additional 2,458,478 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,511,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,712,000 after buying an additional 2,293,275 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the first quarter valued at about $20,148,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the first quarter valued at about $19,047,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Leslie’s news, insider Moyo Labode sold 4,696 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $82,086.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,963.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LESL opened at $15.61 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.92. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.78. Leslie’s, Inc. has a one year low of $13.74 and a one year high of $25.73.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.03). Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 48.04% and a net margin of 9.97%. The business had revenue of $228.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Leslie’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, April 4th. Loop Capital cut shares of Leslie’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 23rd. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Friday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “maintains” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Leslie’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.91.

About Leslie’s

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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 offers pool chemicals consisting of chlorine, sanitizers, water balancers, specialty chemicals, and algae control; pool covers, including winter, solar and safety covers, leaf nets, cover reels, and cover alternatives; pool equipment, which comprise pool cleaners, pool pumps, pool filters, pool heating, and lighting; and pools, such as above ground pools, soft side pools, above ground pools liners and equipment, ladders and rails, and diving boards.