Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Sells 379,950 Shares of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,052,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 379,950 shares during the period. Leslie’s makes up approximately 1.0% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 12.45% of Leslie’s worth $51,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LESL. State Street Corp grew its position in Leslie’s by 7.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,406,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,564,000 after acquiring an additional 601,177 shares during the period. Lind Value II ApS acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the 4th quarter valued at $10,258,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,226,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,428,000 after purchasing an additional 91,898 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Leslie’s by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,136,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,993,000 after purchasing an additional 258,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Leslie’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,470,000.

Leslie’s Price Performance

LESL opened at $0.67 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.12. Leslie’s, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.55 and a fifty-two week high of $6.02. The company has a market cap of $123.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Leslie’s had a negative net margin of 2.13% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on LESL shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $3.00 price target on Leslie’s in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Leslie’s from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $2.65 to $1.40 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Leslie’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.65.

Leslie’s Company 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.