Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock Price

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the blue-jean maker's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 8.33% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on LEVI. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,147,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,157,801. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $12.17 and a 12-month high of $24.34. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 114,442 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,980,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,151 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,090 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.