Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $20.00 price objective on the blue-jean maker's stock, up from their prior price objective of $17.00. Bank of America's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 39.47% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on LEVI. UBS Group dropped their target price on 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 lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

LEVI stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.34. 808,876 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,531. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $24.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $16.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.33.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $152,672,000 after buying an additional 133,978 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $115,444,000 after buying an additional 81,435 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $33,157,000 after buying an additional 669,624 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $32,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $27,823,000 after acquiring an additional 219,546 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently 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.