Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Financial Analyst Says

Key Points

• Raymond James raised Levi Strauss’s price target from $25 to $27 and kept an outperform rating, implying about 9% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts were also generally positive, with several firms reiterating buy-equivalent views; the stock now has an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus target price of $27.
• Levi Strauss posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates and reporting 14.1% year-over-year revenue growth, even as insiders sold shares in recent months.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Raymond James Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the blue-jean maker's stock. Raymond James Financial's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.12% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.00.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

LEVI traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.74. 140,753 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,648,062. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $17.72 and a 1 year high of $25.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.32.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 25.35%. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Robert D. Haas sold 488,851 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $11,786,197.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 145,662 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $3,497,344.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 145,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,497,344.62. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,468,570 shares of company stock worth $34,136,152 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,320,747 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $193,312,000 after buying an additional 342,009 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 462.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,839,861 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $89,489,000 after acquiring an additional 3,979,223 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $88,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296,474 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 9.3% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,457,702 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $80,564,000 after acquiring an additional 294,053 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the second quarter valued at $60,854,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company's flagship label, Levi's®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi's, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.