Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.14 Per Share

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.14 per share by the blue-jean maker on Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This is a 7.7% increase from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

Levi Strauss & Co. has a dividend payout ratio of 38.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Levi Strauss & Co. to earn $1.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.4%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:LEVI traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $21.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,807,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,217,069. 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. has a 52 week low of $12.17 and a 52 week high of $22.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 133.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,286 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $224,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $241,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.4% during 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 worth $24,908,000 after acquiring an additional 52,332 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 181.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 151,645 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $2,364,000 after acquiring an additional 97,800 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on LEVI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.18.

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.