Stifel Financial Corp Raises Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 73.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,947 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,718 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $3,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 104.5% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 8,457 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 worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 23,838 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter worth approximately $195,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $380,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.75.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:LEVI opened at $16.95 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 44.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $14.87 and a 12 month high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $149,976.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 108,344 shares in the company, valued at $1,950,192. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.