Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $27.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. traded as high as $23.69 and last traded at $23.79, with a volume of 141554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.30.

LEVI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group lifted 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. Zacks Research downgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 123,970.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $19,779,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 65.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 83.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hook Mill Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $14,103,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 4.7%

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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.69.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 6.40%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. Analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.90%.

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.