Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Free Report)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $20.00. The stock had previously closed at $23.12, but opened at $18.99. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. shares last traded at $19.39, with a volume of 3,274,213 shares.
Several other research firms have also weighed in on LEVI. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. OTR Global began coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Friday, June 14th. They set a “positive” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 10,422 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $208,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 169,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,380,160. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 16,666 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.94, for a total value of $398,984.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 166,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,223.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 10,422 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $208,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 169,008 shares in the company, valued at $3,380,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 772,263 shares of company stock worth $17,256,670 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $294,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $330,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.
Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 15.3 %
The firm has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.52 and its 200 day moving average is $19.28.
Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 20.68%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 154.84%.
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.