Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Short Interest Down 24.9% in October

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,030,000 shares, a decrease of 24.9% from the October 15th total of 6,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 1.2 %

LEVI stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,816,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,241,430. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $14.70 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The company's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.85%.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total value of $79,778.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 154,178 shares in the company, valued at $2,952,508.70. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 230.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,934 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 39,683 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,555,997 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $171,034,000 after purchasing an additional 164,612 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 69.2% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,965 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 7,757 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,502 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 85,129 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LEVI. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.