Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI – Get Rating) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.27.

A number of brokerages have commented on LEVI. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Friday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Friday, September 16th.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 3.2 %

LEVI stock opened at $16.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.27. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $28.62. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, EVP Seth Jaffe sold 12,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.75, for a total transaction of $239,662.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 148,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,780,606.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Diligent Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 5.4% during the second quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 118,153 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,928,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.3% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,800 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 23,343 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.0% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 24,810 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.81% of the company's stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

(Get Rating)

Levi Strauss & Co operates as an apparel company. The company designs, markets, and sells jeans, casual and dress pants, activewear, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jackets, footwear, and related accessories for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It also sells its products under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, and Denizen brands.

Further Reading

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI)
• What Steelcase's Earnings Say About the Return to the Office?
• The Institutions Hold On To Darden Restaurants International
• Is The Golden Age Of Homebuilding Already Over?
• These 3 Big Dividend Payers Also Boast Strong Price Growth
• Natural Gas Prices Continue To Rally, These Stocks Should Benefit

Receive News & Ratings for Levi Strauss & Co. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Levi Strauss & Co. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.