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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,690,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the June 30th total of 6,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE LEVI traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $18.10. The stock had a trading volume of 114,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,389,765. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.74. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.16. 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. has a 1-year low of $12.41 and a 1-year high of $24.34.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LEVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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, June 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $80,695.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 162,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,147,818.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 56,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total transaction of $1,246,076.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $80,695.42. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 162,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,147,818.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 626,548 shares of company stock worth $14,114,736. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $24,325,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,625,378 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $109,584,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 959.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 294,412 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $4,870,000 after buying an additional 266,612 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,432,143 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $23,688,000 after buying an additional 242,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,245,542 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $20,601,000 after buying an additional 196,270 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.