Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases 140,797 Shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 32.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 578,108 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140,797 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.31% of Leslie’s worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Leslie’s by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 160,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after buying an additional 2,710 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 20,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 3,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 82,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $5.25 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leslie’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.96.

Leslie’s Price Performance

LESL stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $3.18. The stock had a trading volume of 5,480,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,107,427. The firm has a market cap of $587.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.24. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.42 and a 52-week high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $569.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.99 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 1.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Leslie’s Company Profile

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.