Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $20.00. The stock had previously closed at $23.12, but opened at $18.99. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. shares last traded at $19.39, with a volume of 3,274,213 shares changing hands.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total value of $2,405,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total value of $2,405,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 10,422 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $208,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 169,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,380,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 772,263 shares of company stock worth $17,256,670 over the last ninety days. 3.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,325,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,625,378 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $109,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,626,322 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $117,145,000 after purchasing an additional 610,838 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter worth $7,105,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 959.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 294,412 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $4,870,000 after purchasing an additional 266,612 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 15.3 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 63.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 2.05%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 154.84%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.