Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Holdings Lifted by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 68.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,260 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,887 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 19.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 152,590 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at $832,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $511,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter worth $1,222,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $1,415,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $15.70 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.84. 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 $15.44 and a 52 week high of $24.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

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.