Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 92,100 Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 92,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Leslie’s by 50.6% during the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 24,987,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,429,000 after purchasing an additional 8,398,488 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Leslie’s by 3.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,624,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,414,000 after purchasing an additional 647,841 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Leslie’s by 55.1% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 17,115,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,876,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078,768 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Leslie’s by 66.7% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,862,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,781,000 after purchasing an additional 6,346,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Leslie’s by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,018,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,771,000 after purchasing an additional 845,615 shares during the last quarter.

Leslie’s Price Performance

LESL stock opened at $3.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $736.19 million, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.18. Leslie’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.88 and a fifty-two week high of $11.68.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.01. Leslie’s had a net margin of 1.25% and a negative return on equity of 15.00%. The company had revenue of $173.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.17 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LESL shares. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $5.40 to $6.30 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.37.

Leslie’s 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.