Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Price Target to $17.00

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock.

LEVI has been the subject of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $19.06 on Thursday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $15.62 and a 1 year high of $24.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.16. 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. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 26.00% and a net margin of 3.32%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,875,204. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Matrix Trust Co grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.