Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $282,000 Position in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 59.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,200 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Leslie’s were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 20,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,023 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the fourth quarter worth about $636,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 88,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 5,649 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leslie’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $310,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,633,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,201,000 after acquiring an additional 404,635 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LESL. Mizuho initiated coverage on Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $7.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Leslie’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.37.

Leslie’s Stock Up 5.6 %

Leslie’s stock opened at $4.36 on Friday. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.79 and a 12 month high of $11.68. The stock has a market cap of $804.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.15.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported ($0.21) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $173.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.17 million. On average, analysts expect that Leslie’s, Inc. will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.