Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Receives $22.75 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently 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 a report on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LEVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on 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.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $17.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.14. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $13.75 and a 1-year high of $24.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.19.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,583,520. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total transaction of $79,778.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 154,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,952,508.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 229,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,583,520. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,555,997 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $171,034,000 after purchasing an additional 164,612 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% during the second 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. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,083.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,070.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,518 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $27,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 6,794.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,244,873 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $24,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,818 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.