David A. Friedman Sells 8,332 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $149,976.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 108,344 shares in the company, valued at $1,950,192. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE LEVI opened at $18.49 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.39. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $14.70 and a 1 year high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 48.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,502 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 4,202 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.0% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 85,129 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 104.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 8,457 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 5.9% in the second quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,986 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $343,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.