Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases New Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 81,811 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,415,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $205,356,000 after acquiring an additional 2,907,099 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,555,382 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $33,907,000 after acquiring an additional 579,460 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,858,000 after acquiring an additional 840,251 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,816,000 after acquiring an additional 20,426 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,123,957 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,512,000 after acquiring an additional 20,870 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEVI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,204. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,664 shares of company stock worth $301,785. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI stock opened at $18.15 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.17. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $15.62 and a 12 month high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. Equities research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.