Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $13.50, but opened at $15.71. Levi Strauss & Co. shares last traded at $13.72, with a volume of 1,974,722 shares traded.

The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LEVI. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.18.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $32,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598,523 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,079.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,432,127 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $24,776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,748 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $26,858,000 after acquiring an additional 840,251 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 164.4% during the fourth quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,312,150 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $22,700,000 after acquiring an additional 815,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,869,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.41.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.