Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Receives $22.75 Average PT from Analysts

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

LEVI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.4 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $17.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.58, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.87 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.86.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.84%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $149,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 108,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,192. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $205,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,099 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,083.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,923,206 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $37,079,000 after buying an additional 1,835,107 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,070.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,518 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $27,600,000 after buying an additional 1,365,574 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6,794.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,244,873 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $24,001,000 after buying an additional 1,226,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,274,326 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $82,409,000 after buying an additional 756,926 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.