Signet Financial Management LLC Invests $295,000 in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• Signet Financial Management LLC invested $295,000 to acquire 15,958 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• Levi Strauss & Co. reported better-than-expected earnings with earnings per share of $0.22, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.13, alongside a revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.14 per share, reflecting a 2.5% yield and a payout ratio of 54.90%.

Signet Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,958 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.1% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,839 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,297 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 116,131 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on LEVI shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $24.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.83.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 1.7%

LEVI opened at $22.82 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $23.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $21.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.25.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. 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. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is 54.90%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company 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.

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