Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.56.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.02, for a total value of $270,515.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,785.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 32,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.03, for a total value of $584,135.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.02, for a total value of $270,515.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,785.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 168,727 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,016 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 84,278 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 17,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,636 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 18,600 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 34,037 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 1.3 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $20.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $12.41 and a 52 week high of $22.39. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.48.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 2.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 154.84%.

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.