The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $341,000 Stake in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 6.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 81,345 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Leslie’s were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LESL. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 46.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 36,601,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,360,000 after buying an additional 11,618,490 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,116,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,097,000 after buying an additional 492,416 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 2.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,320,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,581,000 after buying an additional 156,938 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 12.4% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,519,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,375,000 after buying an additional 500,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie’s by 6.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,532,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,610,000 after buying an additional 146,215 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on LESL shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Leslie’s from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leslie’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.96.

Leslie’s Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of LESL opened at $2.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $485.87 million, a PE ratio of 32.88, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.17. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.42 and a 12 month high of $8.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.85.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 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 the consensus estimate of $569.99 million. Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a net margin of 0.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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.