Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Price Target Raised to $20.00 at Barclays

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $18.00 to $20.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the blue-jean maker's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LEVI. Bank of America upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:LEVI traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $17.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,972,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,788. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $12.17 and a 52 week high of $24.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $152,672,000 after purchasing an additional 133,978 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $115,444,000 after purchasing an additional 81,435 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,226,205 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 273,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $33,157,000 after buying an additional 669,624 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

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.