Insider Selling: Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director Sells 4,166 Shares of Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total value of $79,778.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 154,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,508.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $19.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.51, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.07. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 23.21% and a net margin of 2.34%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 148.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LEVI shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.38.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 272 Capital LP bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $135,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $195,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $239,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.