Graham Capital Management L.P. Increases Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 271,011 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 37,542 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $4,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LEVI. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Matrix Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $105,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,090 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

LEVI opened at $17.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.88. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $12.17 and a 12-month high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 58.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEVI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Levi Strauss & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.45.

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.