Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

() experienced a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. On May 31, there were 10,410,000 short shares, an increase of 15.2% over the total of 9,040,000 on May 15th. The days-to-cover is currently 4.1 based on a daily average of 2,550,000 share.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

The business sold 2,938 of its shares in a deal dated May 31st. The shares were purchased at a price of $13.45, resulting in a transaction total of $39 516.10. The executive vice president owns 173,732 of the company stock valued at $2.336,695.40 after the sale. Hedge funds and institutional investors have bought and sold the shares of Levi Strauss & Co. recently. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a stake in Levi Strauss & Co. worth approximately $39,000 in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake of Levi Strauss & Co. shares during the fourth-quarter worth $43,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake of Levi Strauss & Co. shares during the first three months valued at $57,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings of Levi Strauss & Co. shares by 60.4% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owns now 3,953 blue-jean maker shares worth $57,000, after buying an additional 1,489 during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board also acquired a new Levi Strauss & Co. position during the first quarter, worth approximately $93,000. Hedge funds and institutional investors own 18.76%.

Wall Street analysts weigh in

A number of analysts have made comments on LEVI's shares. Guggenheim reduced their target price for Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Monday, 10th April from $22.00 down to $19.00. They also set a buy' rating. TheStreet downgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. on Wednesday, from a b- to a c rating in a recent research note. Bank of America cut their price target for Levi Strauss & Co. shares from $18.00 down to $16.00 in a Friday, April 7th research note. The company was given a 'neutral rating'. Stifel Nicolaus lowered its price target on Levi Strauss & Co. shares from $20.00 down to $19.00 in a report released on Monday, April 10. The firm also set a buy' rating for the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed its 'outperform rating' and set a target price of $24.00 on Levi Strauss & Co. shares in a report published on Thursday, March 30, 2013. Five analysts have given the stock a hold recommendation and six others have recommended that the company's shares be bought. According to data from MarketBeat.com the stock currently has a consensus of 'Moderate buy' with an average price of $19.00.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Trading on Friday saw a $0.07 increase, bringing the price to $15.07. The company's average trading volume is 1,983,377 shares. The company's market cap is $5.97 billion. It has a PE of 12.35 and a P/E/G of 3.40. It also has a beta of 1.18%. The 50-day moving average of the stock is $14.16, and its 200-day moving average is $15.62. Levi Strauss & Co.'s 1 year low is $12.80, and its 1 year high is $20.49. The company's current ratio is 1.49. Its quick ratio is 0.74, and its debt-to equity ratio is 0.51.

() announced its last quarterly earnings on Thursday, 6th April. Blue-jeans reported $0.34 per share for the quarter. This beat analysts' expectations of $0.32 cents by $0.02. Revenue for the quarter was $1.69 billion, which is higher than analyst expectations of $1.61. Levi Strauss & Co. reported a return of equity of 29.59% and a margin net of 7.79%. Revenue was up 6.1% year-over-year. In the same period of the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 per share. Analysts on the sell-side expect Levi Strauss & Co. to post 1,29 earnings per share in its current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

A quarterly dividend was also paid by the company on May 18th. Dividends were paid to shareholders who had their shares in the company's records on Thursday, 5th May. The dividend was paid on Thursday, May 4th. This is a $0.48 dividend with a yield 3.19 %. Levi Strauss & Co. has a payout ratio of 39.34%.

Levi Strauss & Co.

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Levi Strauss & Co is a company that designs, markets, and sells apparel. The company sells jeans, casual pants, dress pants, tops and skirts, jackets and footwear. The company operates in three geographical segments: Americas Europe and Asia. Levi Strauss founded the company in 1853. Its headquarters is in San Francisco, CA.

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