90,473 Shares in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC initiated a new position in Levi Strauss & Co., buying 90,473 shares worth about $1.89 million in the fourth quarter.
• Levi Strauss posted better-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $0.28 and revenue of $1.56 billion, and raised its full-year sales and earnings guidance.
• The company also increased its quarterly dividend by 14.3% to $0.16 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $27.46 price target.

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 90,473 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 123,970.4% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,163,649 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $58,496,000 after buying an additional 3,166,203 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $88,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,474 shares during the period. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the third quarter worth about $21,052,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 83.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,958,271 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $36,208,000 after acquiring an additional 890,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 712.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 638,830 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $14,885,000 after acquiring an additional 560,202 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEVI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.46.

Key Headlines Impacting Levi Strauss & Co.

Here are the key news stories impacting Levi Strauss & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Levi Strauss beat Q2 estimates with revenue of $1.56 billion and EPS of $0.28, while also raising full-year sales and earnings guidance, signaling solid demand and improving fundamentals. Levi Strauss beats Q2 estimates, raises full-year outlook and dividend
• Positive Sentiment: The board announced a 14.3% quarterly dividend increase to $0.16 per share, and a separate dividend-hike roundup highlighted LEVI as one of the companies boosting payouts during volatile markets. 3 Stocks in Focus That Declared Dividend Hikes Amid Ongoing Volatility
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research and Needham both reiterated Buy ratings, reinforcing the view that the post-earnings pullback may be overdone. Levi Strauss & Co. Given Buy Rating at BTIG Research

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,145,781.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karyn Hillman sold 38,938 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.91, for a total transaction of $892,069.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 91,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,096,769.02. This represents a 29.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 1,468,570 shares of company stock worth $34,136,152 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.31. 5,508,669 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,024,346. The stock has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.33. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $17.72 and a 1-year high of $25.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.13 and a 200-day moving average of $21.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.Levi Strauss & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. Analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is 35.67%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company's flagship label, Levi's®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi's, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.

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