BlackRock Inc. Purchases 13,169,336 Shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Rating) by 210.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,434,979 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,169,336 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Inc. owned 10.62% of Leslie’s worth $285,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LESL. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 113.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,497 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Leslie’s by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Leslie’s in the 1st quarter worth $112,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Leslie’s by 275.3% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 7,353 shares during the period. Finally, TownSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter worth $177,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LESL shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut Leslie’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday, December 1st. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Leslie’s from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird cut Leslie’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Leslie’s to $17.00 in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.22.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Shares of LESL stock opened at $12.06 on Friday. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.43 and a 52-week high of $21.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.85.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $195.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.82 million. Leslie’s had a net margin of 9.11% and a negative return on equity of 56.91%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Investor Aggregator L. Bubbles sold 9,343,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.02, for a total transaction of $112,308,857.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,776,904 shares in the company, valued at $105,498,386.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

About Leslie’s

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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 offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products, as well as installation and repair services for pool and spa equipment.