Short Interest in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Grows By 12.8%

by · The Cerbat Gem

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,700,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the September 30th total of 5,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,583,520. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total transaction of $79,778.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 154,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,508.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $500,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,583,520. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,391,385 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $138,794,000 after buying an additional 97,043 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 230.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,934 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 39,683 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,739,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 96.3% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 69,999 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 34,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 69.2% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,965 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 7,757 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEVI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.75.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LEVI

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of LEVI stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $17.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,759,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,265,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.31 and its 200 day moving average is $20.21. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.22 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 48.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.14.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 2.52%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 148.57%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.

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