Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Short Interest Update

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Rating) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 23,840,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the February 13th total of 25,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.6 days. Approximately 14.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LESL. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Leslie’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 1st. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 1st. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Leslie’s to $17.00 in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Leslie’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leslie’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 210.2% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 19,434,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,887,000 after buying an additional 13,169,336 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Leslie’s by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,449,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,870,142 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Leslie’s by 19.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,441,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367,168 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 3.5% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 9,660,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,100,000 after purchasing an additional 322,389 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 106.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,009,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,703,000 after purchasing an additional 3,612,422 shares in the last quarter.

Leslie’s Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:LESL opened at $12.07 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.85. Leslie’s has a 12 month low of $11.43 and a 12 month high of $21.73.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $195.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.82 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 56.91% and a net margin of 9.11%. Equities analysts forecast that Leslie’s will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Leslie’s Company Profile

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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 various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products, as well as installation and repair services for pool and spa equipment.