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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high 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.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 32,398 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.03, for a total value of $584,135.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $705,785.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 32,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.03, for a total transaction of $584,135.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,875 shares of company stock worth $1,045,240 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 40.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 36,330 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 10,498 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 438,865 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $8,672,000 after purchasing an additional 30,089 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 37.9% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 79,770 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 21,916 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 20.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 324,332 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $6,413,000 after acquiring an additional 54,109 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 119,376 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 6,771 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.80. The company has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 22.33%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.22 EPS for the current 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 (DPR) 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.