Leslie's falls as Pool's bleak outlook spills over
25/06/2024 16:29
** Shares of Leslie's LESL.O down 5% at $4.15 on Tues in
wake of competitor Pool Corp's POOL.O guidance cut amid weak
start to summer season
** Pool, swimming pool products distributor, late Mon
slashed its FY24 EPS forecast to $11.04-$11.44 from previous
range of $13.19-$14.19, citing "persistently weak demand for new
pool construction"
** POOL shares last down ~7% on Tues as Wall Street analysts
cut PTs on the news
** In May, pool and spa products retailer Leslie's posted
wider net loss for the Mar qtr and 11% drop in sales to $188.7
mln, though reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal 2024
** 11 of 13 analysts covering LESL rate stock "hold", while
2 have "strong buy" and their median PT is $6, LSEG data shows
** With move on the session, LESL shares down 40% YTD. Stock
well below the $27.75 price it ended 2020
** Leslie's has current market cap of about $767 mln
compared to Pool's roughly $12 bln market value
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))