Janus Henderson Group PLC Cuts Stock Position in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Janus Henderson Group PLC cut its holdings in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 87.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 901,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,418,186 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Leslie’s were worth $2,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 27.0% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 173,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 36,953 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 83.1% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 353,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 160,583 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the third quarter valued at $569,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Leslie’s during the third quarter worth $208,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Leslie’s by 334.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 20,564 shares during the period.

Leslie’s Price Performance

LESL stock opened at $2.46 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $2.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.28. The company has a market capitalization of $455.02 million, a P/E ratio of -20.50 and a beta of 1.12. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.20 and a 1-year high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $397.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.19 million. Leslie’s had a negative net margin of 1.76% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LESL. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.61.

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.