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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,710,000 shares, an increase of 10.2% from the December 15th total of 5,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,204. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 2,998 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,816,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 166,736 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,785 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,123,957 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,512,000 after buying an additional 20,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.50.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE LEVI traded down $0.21 on Monday, reaching $17.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,397,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,090. The firm has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.10 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.