SB Capital Management Inc Invests $2.02 Million in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

SB Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 97,549 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,268.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 238,883 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $5,566,000 after purchasing an additional 228,796 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $88,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,474 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,978,738 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $209,205,000 after purchasing an additional 277,835 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,991,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LEVI. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.79.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $23.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.39. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.34. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $17.28 and a 12-month high of $24.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 25.35%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Robert D. Haas sold 488,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total value of $11,786,197.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,145,781.21. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,468,570 shares of company stock valued at $34,136,152. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company’s flagship label, Levi’s®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi’s, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.