EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Raises Stake in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.3%, acquiring 64,572 additional shares, worth approximately $2.7 million.
• Levi Strauss & Co. reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.13, and a revenue of $1.45 billion, up 6.4% from the previous year.
• The company also declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share, reflecting a 2.5% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 54.9%.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 59.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,426 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after purchasing an additional 64,572 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% during 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 in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,109 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $81,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $22.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,655,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,475,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $20.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.00. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $12.17 and a 12-month high of $22.83.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 28.75%. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LEVI shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.