Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.43.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE LEVI opened at $24.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $17.72 and a 1-year high of $25.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 47,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $1,145,781.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 98,144 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.22, for a total transaction of $2,377,047.68. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,296,009 shares of company stock worth $30,227,170. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,449,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,320,747 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $193,312,000 after purchasing an additional 342,009 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,887,000. Finally, Broad Peak Investment Advisers Pte Ltd lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Broad Peak Investment Advisers Pte Ltd now owns 445,300 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 177,800 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company’s flagship label, Levi’s®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi’s, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.