Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has initiated coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI), assigning a "buy" rating and a price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.51% from its previous close.
• Other analysts, including UBS Group and Bank of America, have also rated the stock as a "buy," with average price targets rising to $23.83 among ten ratings of "buy" and three of "hold."
• Levi Strauss & Co. reported a net margin of 6.40% and a quarterly revenue of $1.45 billion, surpassing estimates, with a predicted 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $28.00 price target on the blue-jean maker's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.51% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.83.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $23.23 on Thursday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $12.17 and a 12 month high of $23.41. The company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.44.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 6.40%.The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 87.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 53,967 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 25,197 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $402,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 143.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,479 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 17,376 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,259,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,639,565 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $26,856,000 after purchasing an additional 97,781 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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