Levi Strauss & Co.’s (LEVI) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $23.00 price target on the blue-jean maker’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

LEVI opened at $16.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $17.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.77. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.42 and a 52-week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,998 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $16,383,000 after acquiring an additional 152,590 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $832,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $511,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,415,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $27,823,000 after buying an additional 219,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.