Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $22.00 and last traded at $21.75, with a volume of 2701748 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.73.

The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 29.22%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 58.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LEVI shares. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,180,700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,808 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11,807 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $483,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 80.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 21,330 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $432,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,966 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 11.0%

The firm has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.50.

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.