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

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.33.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LEVI shares. OTR Global started coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They issued a “positive” rating for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $80,695.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 162,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,147,818.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 16,666 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.94, for a total transaction of $398,984.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 166,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,990,223.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $80,695.42. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 162,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,147,818.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 725,033 shares of company stock valued at $16,276,940 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.0% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 85,129 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,502 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,202 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 69.2% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,965 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 7,757 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,555,997 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $171,034,000 after purchasing an additional 164,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 96.3% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 69,999 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 34,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $19.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.34 and a 200-day moving average of $19.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 54.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.41 and a 1-year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 23.21% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 currently 137.15%.

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.