Stifel Nicolaus Downgrades Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) to Sell

Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $2.50 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $5.25.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leslie’s presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $4.18.

Leslie’s Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of LESL stock opened at $2.68 on Thursday. Leslie’s has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $8.21. The stock has a market cap of $495.11 million, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.73.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $188.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.69 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 1.06%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Leslie’s will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Leslie’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Leslie’s by 32,510.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 6,502 shares in the last quarter. RPO LLC bought a new stake in Leslie’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Leslie’s in the first quarter valued at about $100,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Leslie’s in the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Leslie’s by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter.

About Leslie’s

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.