Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Short Interest Update

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,700,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the September 30th total of 5,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,890,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LEVI traded down $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $17.09. 2,759,357 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,265,240. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.21. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $13.22 and a 52-week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.75.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,583,520. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,583,520. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total transaction of $79,778.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 154,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,952,508.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.8% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 42,745 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 21,690 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 85,129 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Waycross Investment Management Co lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Waycross Investment Management Co now owns 38,195 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.