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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading 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.

LEVI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $149,976.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 108,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,192. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $205,356,000 after acquiring an additional 2,907,099 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,835,107 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% during 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 worth $33,907,000 after purchasing an additional 579,460 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,858,000 after purchasing an additional 840,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,816,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17. The stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.