Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 840,550 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 64.1%, selling 840,550 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with approximately 471,600 shares valued at $7.35 million.
• The company reported $1.45 billion in revenue for the last quarter, which surpassed estimates, and earned $0.22 EPS, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.13.
• Levi Strauss & Co. raised its quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share, representing a 2.5% dividend yield and an increase from the previous dividend of $0.13.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC decreased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 64.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 471,600 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 840,550 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $7,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,109 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $81,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE LEVI opened at $21.97 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $20.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.21. 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. has a 1 year low of $12.17 and a 1 year high of $22.35.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.45.

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.

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