Wall Street Zen Downgrades Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) to Hold

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.38.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 1.2%

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $20.97 on Monday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $12.17 and a 1 year high of $24.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.21 and its 200-day moving average is $21.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 9th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 27.92%. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.320 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder Margaret E. Haas sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.14, for a total transaction of $1,207,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.19, for a total value of $3,628,500.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Paragon Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the second quarter valued at $257,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,210,669 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $22,391,000 after acquiring an additional 24,728 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 1,420,596 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,267,000 after purchasing an additional 389,176 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,259,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 49.9% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 61,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 20,300 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company’s flagship label, Levi’s®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi’s, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.