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

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised the price target for Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $20.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock.
• Other analysts have increased their price targets as well, with Barclays setting a target of $26.00 and Bank of America raising theirs to $27.00.
• Levi Strauss & Co. reported better-than-expected earnings, with a revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.50 billion.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $20.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the blue-jean maker's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential downside of 18.65% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group set a $32.00 price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $24.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.17 and a one year high of $24.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.13 and a 200 day moving average of $19.04.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 9th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 6.40%.Levi Strauss & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.320 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total transaction of $3,628,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total value of $1,207,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 201,150 shares of company stock worth $4,860,018. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 140.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,425 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 8,080.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,109 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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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