SB Capital Management Inc Takes $2.02 Million Position in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• SB Capital Management opened a new position in Levi Strauss & Co., buying 97,549 shares valued at about $2.02 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with several funds increasing or initiating stakes; the article says 69.14% of LEVI is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Levi Strauss reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue in its latest quarter, while analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $26.79.

SB Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 97,549 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 123,970.4% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,163,649 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $58,496,000 after buying an additional 3,166,203 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the third quarter worth about $39,322,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $88,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,474 shares during the last quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $21,052,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,958,271 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $36,208,000 after acquiring an additional 890,752 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LEVI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.79.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $23.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.34. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $22.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.39. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $17.28 and a 12-month high of $24.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 9.52%.Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.67%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,145,781.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Robert D. Haas sold 488,851 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $11,786,197.61. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,468,570 shares of company stock valued at $34,136,152 over the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company's flagship label, Levi's®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi's, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LEVI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.