Levi Strauss & Co.'s (LEVI) Hold (C) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Levi Strauss & Co. has a "hold (C)" rating reiterated by Weiss Ratings, while other analysts have issued a variety of price target increases and ratings, with the average consensus being a "Moderate Buy."
• For the last quarter, Levi Strauss reported earnings per share of $0.22, surpassing expectations and showing a revenue increase of 6.4% compared to the previous year.
• Insider selling was noted, with major shareholders selling 201,150 shares for a total of approximately $4.86 million over the last quarter.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reissued by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:LEVI opened at $24.65 on Wednesday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $12.17 and a 1 year high of $24.82. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 150,000 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $3,628,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 50,000 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $1,207,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 201,150 shares of company stock worth $4,860,018. 1.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 87.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 25,197 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $402,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake 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 worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 17,376 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter worth about $3,259,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,639,565 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $26,856,000 after acquiring an additional 97,781 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is 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.

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