Levi Strauss & Co. Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:LEVI)

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 15,262 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 339% compared to the average daily volume of 3,473 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LEVI shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE LEVI traded down $0.59 on Monday, reaching $21.36. The company had a trading volume of 4,807,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,217,069. The company's fifty day moving average is $17.90 and its 200-day moving average is $17.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. 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 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $22.39.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 6.40%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 50.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $152,672,000 after purchasing an additional 133,978 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $115,444,000 after buying an additional 81,435 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 65.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,110,200 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $48,488,000 after buying an additional 1,226,205 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,189,815 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $34,139,000 after acquiring an additional 273,247 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $33,157,000 after buying an additional 669,624 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.