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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Levi Strauss from “strong buy” to “buy,” though broader analyst sentiment remains positive with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $27.43.
• Levi Strauss exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.28 in EPS and $1.56 billion in revenue; revenue increased 8% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company, while executive vice president Harmit Singh sold 98,144 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.43.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE LEVI opened at $20.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $22.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.14. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $17.72 and a 1-year high of $25.70. 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. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Harmit Singh sold 98,144 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,391,652.34. This trade represents a 49.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,296,474 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,449,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,887,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 42.8% during the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 180,423 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $4,428,000 after purchasing an additional 54,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,219,599 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $46,034,000 after buying an additional 531,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its Levi's brand of denim jeans and related clothing. Its product portfolio includes jeans, tops, jackets, footwear, accessories and other casualwear, sold through company-operated stores, digital channels, wholesale partners and distributors.

Founded in 1853 by Levi Strauss, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. In addition to Levi's, its brand portfolio includes Dockers, Beyond Yoga, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co and Denizen.

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