Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 5,525 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 234% compared to the typical volume of 1,654 call options.

Key Levi Strauss & Co. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Levi Strauss & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Levi Strauss reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.48, well above the $0.36 analyst consensus and up from $0.34 a year earlier, as wider margins improved profitability. Levi Strauss beats third-quarter profit estimates as margins widen
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $1.54-$1.56, from $1.46-$1.52 previously. The outlook benefited from approximately $80 million in tariff refunds, which Levi plans to largely reinvest in the business. Levi Strauss hikes profit guidance after tariff refunds
• Positive Sentiment: International and wholesale operations, along with lifestyle categories such as Beyond Yoga, delivered stronger growth. Management also cited an AI shopping assistant as a potential catalyst for its direct-to-consumer business. Levi tariff refunds and AI shopping assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Levi declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, equivalent to $0.64 annually and a stated yield of about 3.4%. Levi Strauss quarterly dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed: Needham reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $28 target, while Wells Fargo cut its target to $20 and maintained an Equal Weight rating.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue of $1.61 billion missed the $1.62 billion consensus, although it increased 4.3% year over year. Direct-to-consumer revenue growth was only 2%, with continued U.S. consumer and traffic pressure. Levi Strauss stock falls on mixed financial results
• Negative Sentiment: Levi forecast fiscal 2026 revenue of approximately $6.7 billion, below the roughly $6.8 billion analyst expectation, and reduced its sales-growth outlook to the low end of its prior range. The earnings guidance increase therefore appears partly dependent on tariff refunds rather than stronger underlying sales.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LEVI. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold 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 $26.23.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $18.79. 5,404,404 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,735,648. The stock has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.14. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $17.72 and a twelve month high of $25.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.560 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 21st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, EVP Harmit Singh sold 98,144 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.22, for a total transaction of $2,377,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,391,652.34. The trade was a 49.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter worth about $3,318,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $88,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,474 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 74.3% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 811,600 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $20,152,000 after acquiring an additional 345,855 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 180,423 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $4,428,000 after acquiring an additional 54,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,887,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co is an apparel company best known for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans and related clothing. Its product portfolio includes jeans, tops, bottoms, jackets, footwear, accessories and other casualwear for men, women and children.

Founded in 1853 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company also owns the Dockers, Beyond Yoga and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co brands. Levi Strauss & Co sells its products through company-operated stores, e-commerce platforms, wholesale partners and other distribution channels.

The company serves customers in North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.