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

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $18.00 to $20.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the blue-jean maker's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 1.0%

LEVI traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,972,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,172,716. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $15.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.13, a P/E/G 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 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 133.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,286 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.