Boothbay Fund Management LLC Takes $3.07 Million Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 177,443 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,070,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 114,442 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,151 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 2,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEVI traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.82. 1,668,579 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,151,746. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $24.34. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $15.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.96.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 58.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LEVI shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. 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.