Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on LEVI. Citigroup upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.42.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:LEVI opened at $21.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.17 and a one year high of $24.82. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 9th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 27.92%. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.320 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 36.84%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $1,207,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 150,000 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,052,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. PDT Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 20.8% during the third quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 337,375 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $7,861,000 after acquiring an additional 58,141 shares during the period. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter worth $442,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,909,810 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $44,499,000 after purchasing an additional 416,555 shares during the period. 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.