Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Buys 115,128 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 299.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 153,611 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,128 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,998 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $16,383,000 after purchasing an additional 152,590 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,180,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $511,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $27,823,000 after acquiring an additional 219,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LEVI. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

LEVI stock opened at $17.78 on Wednesday. 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. has a 52 week low of $12.17 and a 52 week high of $24.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.63 and its 200 day moving average is $16.87. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.43%.

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.