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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its price target trimmed by UBS Group from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $19.24 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.18. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.62 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,204. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 16,664 shares of company stock valued at $301,785 over the last quarter. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 21,690 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 114,442 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 11,900 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.