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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.27.

LEVI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 1.7 %

LEVI stock opened at $15.70 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.44 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted 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 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 16.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,408 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $17,318,000 after acquiring an additional 110,993 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the third 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 period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 274.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,657 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 24,669 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in 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 period. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.