Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 59.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,493 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 103,214 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $5,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 123,970.4% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,163,649 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $58,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,203 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,322,000. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,052,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,958,271 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $36,208,000 after purchasing an additional 890,752 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 712.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 638,830 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $14,885,000 after purchasing an additional 560,202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LEVI. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, EVP Karyn Hillman sold 38,938 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.91, for a total value of $892,069.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 91,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,769.02. This trade represents a 29.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 4,338 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total value of $104,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,112. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 783,154 shares of company stock valued at $17,630,460 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $22.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.34. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $16.50 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 9.52%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 35.67%.

Levi Strauss & Co. 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.