Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

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

Leslie’s Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of LESL opened at $0.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 million, a P/E ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 1.74. Leslie’s has a 12-month low of $0.58 and a 12-month high of $12.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.85.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.86 by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $458.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $503.22 million. Analysts predict that Leslie’s will post -2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Leslie’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LESL. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 61.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Leslie’s by 923.6% during the 1st 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $229,000. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 87.1% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,016,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 473,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 2,643.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 407,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 393,043 shares in the last quarter.

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.