AlphaQuest LLC Sells 24,337 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has sold 24,337 shares of Levi Strauss & Co., reducing its stake by 30.4% to 55,789 shares, valued at approximately $870,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts have recently increased their target prices for Levi Strauss & Co. shares, with Bank of America raising its target from $21 to $24 and UBS Group raising it from $20 to $28, reflecting a generally positive outlook from equities research analysts.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.14 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%, signaling strong financial health.

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 30.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,789 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 24,337 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LEVI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $2,450,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,341,317 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $23,205,000 after buying an additional 137,933 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,141.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 21,030 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 19,336 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 159,250 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $2,755,000 after buying an additional 9,303 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $446,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LEVI. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of LEVI stock opened at $21.2970 on Monday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.17 and a 52-week high of $22.35. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.84 and a 200-day moving average of $17.71.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.09. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 28.75%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.90%.

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.

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