Citigroup Inc. Increases Stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Rating) by 34.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 130,856 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,570 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,848,857 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $113,573,000 after purchasing an additional 68,649 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 20.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,365,036 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $125,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084,969 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 5,201,875 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $75,283,000 after purchasing an additional 32,502 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.7% in the third quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,311,704 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $47,920,000 after purchasing an additional 86,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,943.1% in the third quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 1,256,999 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $18,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,475 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.76% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $13.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.11. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $12.80 and a 52 week high of $20.49.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 6th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 29.59%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 4th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 3rd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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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.