AMF Tjanstepension AB Acquires Shares of 172,045 Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB opened a new position in Levi Strauss & Co., buying 172,045 shares valued at about $3.18 million in the first quarter.
• Levi Strauss reported better-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $0.28 and revenue of $1.56 billion, and it also raised its full-year guidance.
• The company announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, while analysts remain constructive overall with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $27.46.

AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 172,045 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,181,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 212,880.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,649 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 10,644 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $24,799,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $3,051,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 18.9% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,084 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEVI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.46.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $24.31 on Monday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $17.72 and a 52-week high of $25.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.65.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 34.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 145,662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $3,497,344.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 145,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,497,344.62. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,145,781.21. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,468,570 shares of company stock worth $34,136,152. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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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