Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) had its target price raised by Bank of America from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the blue-jean maker's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on LEVI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE:LEVI traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,807,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,217,069. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.15. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.17 and a twelve month high of $22.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 28.75%. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $152,672,000 after acquiring an additional 133,978 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $115,444,000 after acquiring an additional 81,435 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 65.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,110,200 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $48,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,205 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 14.3% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,189,815 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $34,139,000 after acquiring an additional 273,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $33,157,000 after acquiring an additional 669,624 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.