Diametric Capital LP Invests $218,000 in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Diametric Capital LP bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,598 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LEVI. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,904.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,137 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $105,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 104,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,204. The trade was a 3.85 % 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $16.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.34 and its 200 day moving average is $17.77. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $15.42 and a 52 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.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.