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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $28.00 to $25.00. The stock had previously closed at $21.06, but opened at $18.69. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. shares last traded at $19.15, with a volume of 3,405,866 shares.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. OTR Global began coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Friday, June 14th. They set a “positive” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total value of $79,778.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 154,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,508.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $500,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,583,520. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total transaction of $79,778.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 154,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,508.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,334 shares of company stock valued at $655,765. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 272 Capital LP acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter worth about $135,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the second quarter worth about $195,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.34. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 23.21% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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.