Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.38.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. OTR Global started coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, June 14th. They issued a “positive” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 2.9 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $17.88 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.09, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.71. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $12.41 and a 52 week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 23.21%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 137.15%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total value of $2,405,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $80,695.42. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 162,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,147,818.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total transaction of $2,405,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 639,048 shares of company stock worth $14,380,111. 3.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,245,542 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $20,601,000 after acquiring an additional 196,270 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 230.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,934 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 39,683 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,361,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 155,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $2,564,000 after acquiring an additional 95,000 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.