Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.25.

LEVI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, July 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Harmit Singh sold 98,144 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.22, for a total value of $2,377,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,391,652.34. This represents a 49.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 462.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,839,861 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $89,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,223 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $88,014,000 after buying an additional 1,296,474 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,854,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,219,599 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $46,034,000 after acquiring an additional 531,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 8.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,849,014 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $34,185,000 after acquiring an additional 148,174 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $20.57 on Wednesday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $17.72 and a one year high of $25.70. The company has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.13.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co is an apparel company best known for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans and related clothing. Its product portfolio includes jeans, tops, bottoms, jackets, footwear, accessories and other casualwear for men, women and children.

Founded in 1853 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company also owns the Dockers, Beyond Yoga and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co brands. Levi Strauss & Co sells its products through company-operated stores, e-commerce platforms, wholesale partners and other distribution channels.

The company serves customers in North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.