Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Price Target Lowered to $18.00 at Barclays

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $22.00 to $18.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the blue-jean maker's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEVI traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,760,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,166,498. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $16.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.41. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $12.17 and a 12-month high of $24.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

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.