Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on LEVI. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.43.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $19.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.32. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $17.72 and a one year high of $25.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were issued a $0.16 dividend. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 22nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, EVP Harmit Singh sold 98,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.22, for a total value of $2,377,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,391,652.34. The trade was a 49.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% 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 the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 462.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,839,861 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $89,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979,223 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $88,014,000 after buying an additional 1,296,474 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,854,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,219,599 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $46,034,000 after buying an additional 531,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,644,561 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $40,834,000 after buying an additional 7,827 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans and related clothing. Its product portfolio includes jeans, tops, jackets, footwear, accessories and other casualwear, sold through company-operated stores, digital channels, wholesale partners and distributors.

Founded in 1853 by Levi Strauss, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. In addition to Levi’s, its brand portfolio includes Dockers, Beyond Yoga, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co and Denizen.