Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $16.79 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $14.87 and a 52 week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results 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. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.84%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $149,976.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 108,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,192. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LEVI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $205,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,099 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,835,107 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,555,382 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $33,907,000 after buying an additional 579,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,070.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,518 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $27,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365,574 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently 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.