Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $16.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. traded as low as $12.33 and last traded at $12.52, with a volume of 14781837 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.50.

LEVI has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.18.

Insider Activity

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company'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 directly owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,998 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $16,383,000 after acquiring an additional 152,590 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $27,823,000 after purchasing an additional 219,546 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $26,858,000 after purchasing an additional 840,251 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $16.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.38.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.