Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Trading 4.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) rose 4.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.44 and last traded at $16.33. Approximately 677,203 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,989,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on LEVI. UBS Group cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.39 and a 200 day moving average of $17.80.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,408 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $17,318,000 after acquiring an additional 110,993 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $205,356,000 after buying an additional 2,907,099 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 274.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,657 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 24,669 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,555,382 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $33,907,000 after acquiring an additional 579,460 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,904.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,137 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966 shares during 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.