Xcel Wealth Management LLC Buys 24,494 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• Xcel Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 22.3%, owning 134,205 shares worth approximately $2.48 million after acquiring an additional 24,494 shares in Q2.
• Levi Strauss & Co. recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.14 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.4%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Levi Strauss & Co., with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.45.

Xcel Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,205 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after acquiring an additional 24,494 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LEVI. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 65.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,110,200 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $48,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,205 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,189,815 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $34,139,000 after buying an additional 273,247 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,639,565 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $26,856,000 after buying an additional 97,781 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,597,687 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $24,908,000 after acquiring an additional 52,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $19,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 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 three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI stock opened at $23.23 on Thursday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $12.17 and a 12-month high of $23.41. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $21.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.44. 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 company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.25.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.90%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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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