Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $23.00. The stock had previously closed at $18.09, but opened at $17.00. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. shares last traded at $17.34, with a volume of 1,172,348 shares.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $149,976.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 108,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,950,192. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,835,107 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. Washington Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 69.7% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 21,690 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,514 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 6,528 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.52 and its 200 day moving average is $18.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. Research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.85%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.