Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $22.00. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. traded as high as $19.23 and last traded at $19.09, with a volume of 234586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.80.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.10.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.02, for a total value of $270,515.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,785.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 32,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.03, for a total transaction of $584,135.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.02, for a total transaction of $270,515.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,785.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,875 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,240. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEVI. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $38,029,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,325,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 724.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,574,260 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,339 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,096.4% in the third quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 1,252,500 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $17,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,475 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 20.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,365,036 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $125,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084,969 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.73 and its 200-day moving average is $15.80.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 4.04%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.