Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.13

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the blue-jean maker on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th.

Levi Strauss & Co. has raised its dividend payment by an average of 24.4% annually over the last three years. Levi Strauss & Co. has a dividend payout ratio of 33.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Levi Strauss & Co. to earn $1.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.7%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $19.01. The stock had a trading volume of 6,754,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,048,209. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $15.62 and a 12 month high of $24.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 50.01, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEVI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $149,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 108,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,192. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.