Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Given New $21.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.86% from the company’s previous close.

LEVI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. OTR Global began coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, June 14th. They set a “positive” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.75.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 7.5 %

LEVI stock traded down $1.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $19.47. 6,771,176 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,242,292. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.41 and a one year high of $24.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 55.63, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued 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. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 23.21%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,583,520. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.23, for a total transaction of $75,946.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 158,344 shares in the company, valued at $2,886,611.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 229,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,583,520. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,334 shares of company stock valued at $655,765. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LEVI. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.8% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 42,745 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.0% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 85,129 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Waycross Investment Management Co lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.6% during the second quarter. Waycross Investment Management Co now owns 38,195 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.6% during the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,441 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 272 Capital LP purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.