Trexquant Investment LP Cuts Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 40.8%, now owning 441,672 shares valued at approximately $6.89 million.
• In recent analyst reports, several brokerages have raised target prices for LEVI, with UBS Group setting a new target of $28.00 and multiple others also increasing their estimates.
• Levi Strauss & Co. reported earnings of $0.22 per share, exceeding estimates and showing a 6.4% year-over-year increase in revenue for the most recent quarter.

Trexquant Investment LP decreased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 40.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 441,672 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 304,345 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.11% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $6,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,636,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $235,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,966,000. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 883,558 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $13,775,000 after acquiring an additional 17,768 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 169.1% in the 1st quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 80,200 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 50,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.50. 974,506 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,476,073. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.17 and a 52-week high of $22.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.55 and a 200-day moving average of $17.95. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 54.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LEVI shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped 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. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.