Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock Price

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the blue-jean maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LEVI. Zacks Research cut Levi Strauss & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.33.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 4.7%

LEVI stock opened at $24.40 on Wednesday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.17 and a fifty-two week high of $24.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.90%.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 123,970.4% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,163,649 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $58,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,203 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 65.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,110,200 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $48,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,205 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 14.3% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,189,815 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $34,139,000 after purchasing an additional 273,247 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 83.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,958,271 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $36,208,000 after purchasing an additional 890,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 5.2% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,725,358 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $32,558,000 after purchasing an additional 85,793 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.