Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $23.00 price target on the blue-jean maker’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 59.35% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on LEVI. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE LEVI opened at $14.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.23 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,204. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $152,672,000 after buying an additional 133,978 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $115,444,000 after acquiring an additional 81,435 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $33,157,000 after purchasing an additional 669,624 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $32,593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $27,823,000 after purchasing an additional 219,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.