Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 47.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 746,017 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 239,518 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.19% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $12,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Matrix Trust Co raised 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 acquiring an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,904.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,137 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

LEVI stock opened at $16.36 on Wednesday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $15.42 and a twelve month high of $24.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. Analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LEVI. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

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.