Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Decreases Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 13.4%, selling 68,152 shares, and now owns about 0.11% of the company, valued at approximately $6.86 million.
• Several research analysts have increased their price targets for Levi Strauss, with JPMorgan raising its target from $18.00 to $23.00 and UBS from $20.00 to $28.00, indicating strong confidence in the stock.
• Levi Strauss recently declared a dividend increase to $0.14 per share, representing a 2.5% yield, up from the previous dividend of $0.13.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lowered its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 439,994 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 68,152 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.11% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $6,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 87.6% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 53,967 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 25,197 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $402,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 143.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,479 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,259,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 511.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 127,046 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 106,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of LEVI traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,570,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,826,059. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $12.17 and a 12 month high of $22.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.25.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.09. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 6.40%.The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is 54.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on LEVI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a 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 report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.