Levi Strauss & Co. Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:LEVI)

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 36,135 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,481% compared to the typical volume of 2,286 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LEVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.55.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,109 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 133.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,286 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $18.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.99. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $21.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.15.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 28.11%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.43%.

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.