Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Short Interest Down 16.2% in December

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,100,000 shares, a decrease of 16.2% from the November 30th total of 22,790,000 shares. Currently, 10.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 5,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.61.

Institutional Trading of Leslie’s

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LESL. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Leslie’s during the second quarter worth about $26,000. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $645,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in Leslie’s by 93.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,516,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,545,000 after buying an additional 1,218,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Leslie’s in the second quarter worth $464,000.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Shares of Leslie’s stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.23. 5,190,861 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,594,092. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.64 and a 200-day moving average of $3.02. The company has a market cap of $412.48 million, a PE ratio of -18.58 and a beta of 1.12. Leslie’s has a 12 month low of $2.02 and a 12 month high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.09). Leslie’s had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a negative net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $397.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Leslie’s will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Leslie’s

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.