Short Interest in Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Decreases By 16.2%

Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during 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 company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in Leslie's by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 36,601,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,360,000 after purchasing an additional 11,618,490 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Leslie's by 121.3% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,569,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,599,000 after buying an additional 3,052,539 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Leslie's during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,470,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Leslie's by 1,300.5% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,187,916 shares of the company's stock worth $4,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Leslie's by 477.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,110,404 shares of the company's stock worth $4,653,000 after acquiring an additional 918,084 shares during the period.

Leslie's Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of LESL traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $2.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,190,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,594,092. Leslie's has a 12-month low of $2.02 and a 12-month high of $8.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.02. The company has a market capitalization of $412.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.58 and a beta of 1.12.

Leslie's (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $397.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $405.19 million. Leslie's had a negative net margin of 1.76% and a negative return on equity of 6.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Leslie's will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Leslie's from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Leslie's from $4.00 to $3.75 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Leslie's in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $3.61.

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.