Brokerages Set Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Price Target at $21.27

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.27.

LEVI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI stock opened at $13.99 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.51 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.71.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,204. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $205,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,099 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $152,672,000 after buying an additional 133,978 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $115,444,000 after acquiring an additional 81,435 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $33,157,000 after acquiring an additional 669,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $32,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598,523 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.