Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 48,478 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 147.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,259 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,478 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 271,011 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $4,688,000 after purchasing an additional 37,542 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,869,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,090 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 5,864.9% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 508,146 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $8,791,000 after acquiring an additional 499,627 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEVI has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.82.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:LEVI opened at $17.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.17 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.88.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 58.43%.

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.