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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.27.

Several research firms have issued reports on LEVI. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup 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 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $991,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 511.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 127,046 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 106,281 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 402.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 349,500 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after buying an additional 279,900 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 172,801 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after acquiring an additional 6,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,034,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $16.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.62 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.