Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Trading Down 3.9% – Should You Sell?

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) fell 3.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $20.90 and last traded at $20.8650. Approximately 330,070 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,657,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LEVI. Citigroup boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.43.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.22.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 145,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $3,497,344.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 145,662 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,344.62. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Robert D. Haas sold 488,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $11,786,197.61. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 796,009 shares of company stock worth $19,181,538 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $88,014,000 after buying an additional 1,296,474 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,449,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,887,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,320,747 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $193,312,000 after purchasing an additional 342,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,219,599 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $46,034,000 after purchasing an additional 531,963 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.