Blueshift Asset Management LLC Invests $413,000 in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has acquired 26,476 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI), valued at approximately $413,000, marking a significant investment by the fund in the first quarter.
• Levi Strauss & Co. reported a quarterly EPS of $0.22, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.13, along with a revenue of $1.45 billion, reflecting a 6.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.13, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 26,476 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $32,593,000 after buying an additional 1,598,523 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,079.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,432,127 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $24,776,000 after buying an additional 1,310,748 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $19,779,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 164.4% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,312,150 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $22,700,000 after buying an additional 815,950 shares during the period. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $11,869,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:LEVI traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.37. 2,100,098 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,550,886. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.17 and a twelve month high of $22.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.96 and a 200 day moving average of $17.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 54.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LEVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.45.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.