Graham Capital Management L.P. Boosts Stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,011 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after purchasing an additional 37,542 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $4,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Matrix Trust Co grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,090 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on LEVI shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.78. 172,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,141,777. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.17 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.87.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is 58.43%.

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.