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

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its stake in shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 92.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 832,911 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Leslie’s were worth $152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 50,527,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,975,268 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Leslie’s by 340.4% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,436,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,662,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655,795 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,838,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Leslie’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,774,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the 4th quarter worth $1,807,000.

Leslie’s Price Performance

Shares of LESL stock opened at $0.86 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $0.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.57. Leslie’s, Inc. has a 1 year low of $0.51 and a 1 year high of $6.01. The company has a market cap of $159.83 million, a PE ratio of -5.75 and a beta of 1.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LESL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $3.00 price target on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America downgraded Leslie’s from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $2.65 to $1.40 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $1.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Leslie’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.27.

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.