PDT Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

PDT Partners LLC boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 45.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 358,247 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,493 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $8,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 462.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,839,861 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $89,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,223 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 123,970.4% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,163,649 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $58,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,203 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,854,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $24,799,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $88,014,000 after buying an additional 1,296,474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Robert D. Haas sold 488,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total value of $11,786,197.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,145,781.21. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 783,560 shares of company stock valued at $18,882,739 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 2.7%

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $21.13 on Wednesday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $17.72 and a 12 month high of $25.70. The company has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company’s flagship label, Levi’s®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi’s, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.