Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,015,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,205,789 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 8.67% of Leslie’s worth $67,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 32,510.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 6,502 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the second quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, RPO LLC purchased a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LESL. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $5.25 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Leslie’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.96.

Leslie’s Stock Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ:LESL opened at $2.90 on Friday. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.42 and a 52 week high of $8.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.04 and a beta of 1.17.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $569.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.99 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a net margin of 0.22%. Leslie’s’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.