Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.43.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $20.07 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.05. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $17.72 and a 52-week high of $25.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. Analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, EVP Harmit Singh sold 98,144 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.22, for a total value of $2,377,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,391,652.34. This trade represents a 49.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 983,097 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,410,000 after purchasing an additional 69,437 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,644,561 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $40,834,000 after buying an additional 7,827 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 74.3% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 811,600 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $20,152,000 after buying an additional 345,855 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the second quarter valued at $127,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its Levi’s brand of denim jeans and related clothing. Its product portfolio includes jeans, tops, jackets, footwear, accessories and other casualwear, sold through company-operated stores, digital channels, wholesale partners and distributors.

Founded in 1853 by Levi Strauss, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. In addition to Levi’s, its brand portfolio includes Dockers, Beyond Yoga, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co and Denizen.