Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Price Target Raised to $22.00

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its target price hoisted by Telsey Advisory Group from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock.

LEVI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research report on Friday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $17.10.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 3.2 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $19.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.41 and a twelve month high of $20.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.85.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,468 shares in the company, valued at $705,785.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 9,462 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.01, for a total transaction of $170,410.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $270,515.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,785.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,916 shares of company stock worth $1,506,291 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 84,278 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 4.9% during the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 17,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 30.6% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,636 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 5.2% during the third quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 18,600 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 34,037 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.