Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,570,000 shares, a decline of 14.6% from the May 31st total of 8,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 14,015 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.05, for a total value of $309,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 14,015 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.05, for a total value of $309,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 12,500 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $265,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 187,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,980,794.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 734,882 shares of company stock worth $16,505,276 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,325,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,625,378 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $109,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,626,322 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $117,145,000 after acquiring an additional 610,838 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter valued at $7,105,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 959.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 294,412 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 266,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 0.3 %

LEVI traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,035,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,478,614. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.41 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 54.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average is $22.46 and its 200-day moving average is $19.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 23.21% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 148.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEVI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. OTR Global initiated coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Friday, June 14th. They issued a “positive” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.