Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 76.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133,409 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Leslie’s were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lind Value II ApS acquired a new position in shares of Leslie’s during the fourth quarter valued at $10,258,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Leslie’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,470,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Leslie’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,807,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Leslie’s by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,406,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,564,000 after purchasing an additional 601,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,702,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $3.00 price target on Leslie’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Leslie’s from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $2.65 to $1.40 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.65.

Leslie’s Trading Up 11.2 %

NASDAQ:LESL opened at $0.67 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.26 and a 200-day moving average of $2.13. The firm has a market cap of $123.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 1.30. Leslie’s, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.55 and a twelve month high of $6.02.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a negative net margin of 2.13%.

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.