Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Receives $19.18 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.18.

LEVI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 0.8 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $16.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.05. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $12.17 and a 1 year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.43%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at $1,844,221.28. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,109 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 114,442 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,151 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC now owns 53,036 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares during the period. 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.