Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Bank of America

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

LEVI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.82.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI stock traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.91. The company had a trading volume of 16,510,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,204,361. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.17 and a 52-week high of $22.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $17.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.15.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 29.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,180,700.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,808 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11,807 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $483,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 80.1% during the 2nd quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 21,330 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $432,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,966 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 5,098 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.