UBS Group Lowers Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Price Target to $25.00

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of LEVI opened at $19.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.70 and its 200 day moving average is $18.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.62 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. Sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,204. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 16,664 shares of company stock worth $301,785 in the last ninety days. 3.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Matrix Trust Co raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $105,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,904.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,137 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.