Oxford Asset Management LLP Invests $613,000 in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 35,462 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,123,957 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $24,512,000 after purchasing an additional 20,870 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 166,736 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,785 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $26,816,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co grew its stake 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 valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

NYSE LEVI traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.00. 666,258 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,147,463. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.17 and a one year high of $24.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.76 and a 200-day moving average of $16.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.