PDT Partners LLC Boosts Position in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 45.1% in Q1, acquiring a total of 140,373 shares worth approximately $2.19 million.
• Levi Strauss & Co. reported a quarterly EPS of $0.22, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.13, along with a revenue of $1.45 billion, marking a 6.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.14 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 54.90%.

PDT Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 45.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,373 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after buying an additional 43,659 shares during the quarter. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LEVI. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $19,779,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,966,000. Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,869,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 5,864.9% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 508,146 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $8,791,000 after purchasing an additional 499,627 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.25. 1,570,953 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,826,059. 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. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $20.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.00. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $12.17 and a 1 year high of $22.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.48.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 6.40%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LEVI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.