Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $25.00. The stock had previously closed at $18.09, but opened at $17.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Levi Strauss & Co. shares last traded at $17.34, with a volume of 1,172,348 shares traded.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.27.

Insider Activity

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,875,204. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 132,942 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 24,536 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $325,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $879,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position 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. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. On average, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

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.