Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Fund” third-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The third quarter saw losses in the U.S. stock market due to concerns about a government shutdown, autoworker strikes, rising oil prices, and the possibility that interest rates might stay higher for longer. In the third quarter, Ariel fund declined -7.15% underperforming both the Russell 2500 Value Index and the Russell 2500 Index, which returned -3.66% and -4.78%, respectively. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Ariel Fund highlighted stocks like Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) in the third quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) is a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand. On November 28, 2023, Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) stock closed at $5.82 per share. One-month return of Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) was 22.53%, and its shares lost 60.14% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) has a market capitalization of $1.071 billion.
Ariel Fund made the following comment about Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Alternatively, several positions weighed on performance. Leading direct-to-consumer pool and spa care services company in the U.S., Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL), declined in the period following a preannounced earnings miss. Unfavorable weather across key markets and increased price sensitivity has resulted in weaker than expected store and website traffic trends. Investor concerns regarding the potential deflation on the price of chlorine further weighed on shares. In response to these results, management is reducing inventory, cutting costs and installed a new CFO. We believe our thesis remains intact. In our view, the company continues to differentiate itself through its loyal client base, vertically integrated supply chain, scale advantage and seamless customer experience.”
A technician in safety gear inspecting a pool automated system.
Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 18 hedge fund portfolios held Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) at the end of third quarter which was 18 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) in another article and shared Argosy Investors’ views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.