Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Increases Dividend to $0.14 Per Share

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given 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 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio of 38.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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. Stock Up 11.2%

Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded up $2.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.94. 14,444,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,199,903. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.50. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.17 and a 52-week high of $22.18. The firm has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.15.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.09. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 28.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEVI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.82.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $241,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 181.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 151,645 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $2,364,000 after purchasing an additional 97,800 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.4% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 52,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

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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