Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Price Target Lowered to $17.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LEVI. Citigroup dropped 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. 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. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $19.01 on Thursday. 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. has a 12-month low of $15.62 and a 12-month high of $24.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 26.00%. As a group, analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. 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 sale, the director now owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,204. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the third quarter worth $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. 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.