Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Receives $22.75 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of brokerages have commented on LEVI. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. OTR Global assumed coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They set a “positive” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total value of $75,946.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 158,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,886,611.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $500,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,583,520. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total transaction of $75,946.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 158,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,886,611.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,334 shares of company stock worth $655,765 in the last quarter. 3.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEVI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,391,385 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $138,794,000 after purchasing an additional 97,043 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,245,542 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $20,601,000 after purchasing an additional 196,270 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,552,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 230.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,934 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 39,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,361,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of LEVI stock opened at $19.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.14. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $13.22 and a 1 year high of $24.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 136.85%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.