Royal Bank of Canada Raises Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 117.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 358,797 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 193,607 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $6,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 181.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 151,645 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $2,364,000 after acquiring an additional 97,800 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter worth about $224,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 133.5% in 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. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,597,687 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,908,000 after purchasing an additional 52,332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LEVI. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.43.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Robert D. Haas sold 488,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total value of $11,786,197.61. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,296,009 shares of company stock valued at $30,227,170 over the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of LEVI opened at $22.81 on Wednesday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $17.72 and a 1-year high of $25.70. The company has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.13.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Profile

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.